“Sounds like a plan to me.” Sinead points out the lodge, “Look, we’re here. We talked the entire drive. Just another reason I love these trips.”
Pulling up to the two story lodge and parking the car, Sinead takes time to look over their lodge. Built in the style of a log cabin, it has beautiful large whitepine logs holding up the portico, in grand style. Built with beautiful stones at the base, it was truly breathtaking. Everything being covered in a fresh coating of snow made it even better.
The main entrance was floor to ceiling windows with large grand double doors. The foyer has a rustic chandelier, made of whitepine. To the right and left of the foyer were small hallways, each leading to a suite. Straight ahead of the foyer was a grand staircase, leading to the two remaining suites.
Sharing their lodge with three other couples was going to be fun. They always shared so that no one was hit with the total cost of the lodge. The only one that invested in a single family lodge was the Alpha, and we all understood why. He was the Alpha after all. Besides, with his family, his Betas, and some of his Enforcers he really needed the room.
“Sweetheart, we’re upstairs in the suite to the right. Let's go up and get settled in. Then we can see what’s on the schedule for events and go from there. I think it’s still a bit early for the first run, but you never know.”
Walking into their suite brings smiles to both of their faces. The suite has eggshell-colored walls with beautiful crocus flowers stenciled through the middle of the wall. The parlor has a cream-colored settee, with a violet-colored throw draped across the back. There are small end tables on either side of the settee. Finishing off the small parlor is a small, cream-colored skiba coffee table. The breakfast nook has sky-blue walls with a cream-colored bistro style table that can seat three. One wall is taken up by a large bay window, with a magnificent view of the mountains. The second wall contains a small refrigerator with a small bar that holds a Keurig, a K-cup pod carousel, sugar and coffee cups, the creamer selection is in the small refrigerator. The bedroom has a California King bed, with a simplistic, yet charming, raw log frame made of whitewood. Flanking both sides of the bed are two beautiful raw cut whitepine end tables. The dresser and the walk-in closet share a wall. Across from that wall is the floor to ceiling sliding glass door that opens onto a personal balcony with a stunningly beautiful view. The large adjoining bathroom is bright white with a baby blue tile pattern on the floor and lower part of the walls. Upon entering the bathroom, the two-person shower is to the right, to the left is a two-person vanity. Past the shower is a large, sunken two-person soaking tub. The toilet is in a private little room across from the tub. “Sinead, get a load of this bathroom. I think you’d be in love,” Ailin calls out.
Looking at the schedule of events for this evening, Sinead is excited to see that dinner is in 30 minutes, followed by the first of the pack’s weekend runs. Sinead and Ailin decided to unpack later and get to the dinning hall. Seeing old friends and family is honestly the highlight of the weekend.
As dinner was coming to an end, the energy of the Dire Wolf pack was amping up. Everyone was excited for the first pack run. It’s dusk and slowly growing darker. Wolves can see quite well in the dark, where humans can’t. Stepping outside and walking up a trail as a group, the pack shifts and sets out on the run. The snow covered mountains offer the perfect camouflage for a pack of solid white Dire Wolves. The edge of the forest is the wolves’ boundary. They all know not to go past the forest edge as there are avalanche warnings. As large and strong as a Dire Wolf is, they are no match for the power of an avalanche. A Dire Wolf on average stands four feet tall and can weigh upwards of two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds. They are two to three times the size of an average wolf. Dires not only look fierce, but they are fiercely protective, fiercely loyal, and are fierce fighters. Dires can tell each other apart by their heightened sense of smell, their eye color, and the power that each wolf radiates.
Kicking up the snow and feeling the cold air and snow blow over them as they run,
Sinead and Ailin are enjoying their run and the time they are getting to spend with each other, occasionally batting snow at each other with their large paws. When Sinead slows thinking she hears a cry in the wind, she uses the mate link, “Ailin, did you hear that?” Ailin turns towards his mate and also listens. Turning to head in the direction of the sound, both Ailin and Sinead focus their wolf hearing: a cry. “Ailin, it’s a cry. I hear crying. Dear Gods, we have to help. A human will never survive out here.”
Following his mate, Ailin starts getting a creeping feeling, making his hackles raise. “Sinead wait, let's get the others and form a search party.”
“Ailin, by the time we catch up to the pack and organize a search party the human could die. I can’t live with that. Help me and this won’t take long. It’s starting to snow harder.”
Sighing with resignation, there is no talking her out of this. With no choice, he follows his mate. As they get closer to the crying, that creeping feeling grows in strength. With his wolf’s vision he sees shadows moving in the forest. “How can there be shadows when there is no sun?”
“What? Ailin, hurry. We're almost there!”
Right as he’s about to call out to Sinead, three solid black wolves jump on him. Followed by two black wolves jumping on Sinead. After taking both Ailin and Sinead to the ground a total of eight black wolves circle the mated pair. Over the mate link, Ailin says one single powerful word, “Assassins.” As the wolves start to walk slowly in a circle around them, hackles are raised. Ailin and Sinead both realize this is a fight for their very lives. The moment they look at each other, the assassins make their move. They dart and dive, avoiding any blow the white wolves can. As a hard blow rakes claws down Sinead’s flank, her white coat turns from white to crimson. Letting out a pained yelp, Sinead jumps backwards only to be hit full force on her side, throwing her body into the mountain side. Ailin has rake marks across his face and sides. One of the black wolves latches onto Ailin’s hind leg, using it to throw Ailin into the side of the mountain. Sinead manages to grab one black wolf by it’s leg, trying to break it. As Ailin tries to get up, he is tackled by two wolves. As the black wolves circle for the kill, the mountain shakes. Sinead manages to stand up. Looking around, they hear a booming sound that echoes off the other mountains. Feeling the ground shake and knowing what’s coming, Ailin yells over his mate link, “Avalanche!! Sinead, run!” With the other wolves temporarily distracted, they are able to take off at a hard run. They soon hear the other wolves giving chase. The booming sound that rings out is so loud it causes the wolves to whimper. Ailin looks back and sees what’s coming. While glancing back, he sees six of the assassins get swept away by the rush of snow plummeting down the mountain side. Jumping closer to Sinead, Ailin knows what’s about to happen. Sinead and Ailin are swept up by the onslaught of snow. Tumbling down the mountain, they are buried in a deep pocket of snow. Bruised, bleeding, and severely exhausted all they can do is think of their daughter. Knowing the end is near, they combine their magical powers and send a prayer to their Gods to watch over Becca. Together, they have enough energy left to send out one one last magical message:
“Brigid, Blackwood Dires attacked. Avalanche, too weak.
Get to Becca, protect, teach, prop-.”
Being badly hurt, having no energy left, no air, and the freezing temperatures, Ailin and Sinead Sullivan leave the fate of their daughter in the hands of their Gods and family.
On the side of the mountain where the avalanche came to rest, the two surviving black wolves stood in shock. They scanned the area for survivors, knowing there wouldn’t be any. Deciding to do what they could, the two black wolves started sniffing on top of the avalanche area, smelling for bodies. Once they found a body they would be able to hear a heartbeat, if there was one to hear.
Hearing a yip from the smaller of the two black wolves, the larger one goes to see what’s going on. Smelling the ground and listening, he sits down. Wa
gging his tail and shaking his head is all the other wolf needs to know. They have found the Sullivans, and they aren’t dead yet. The two wolves wait, and it doesn’t take long for the double heartbeats to stop. Dead. The Sullivans are dead. Turning, they ran to the predetermined meeting area. They shifted back to their human forms and got dressed. Both men stare at the satellite phone, knowing one of them must make the expected call.
After arguing back and forth as to who would make the call, Cian grabbed the phone. Holding it to his ear, Cian knew their Alpha would be both happy and pissed.
“Cian,”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“Is it done?”
Stealing himself. Cian straightens his back, with a shaky voice replies, “Yes, Alpha, they are both dead.”
“Cian, what are you not saying?” Taking an audibly deep breath, “Cian, speak up, man.”
The Alpha is losing his patience. I just hope we don’t lose our heads when I tell him we lost six wolves, including his sister, Claire. “Alpha, only tw-two of us survived. There was an avalanche in the middle of the fight. Niall and I barely survived ourselves.”
“Who went with you? Claire handled that since she’s my first Beta. I want to tell the families myself.”
“Alpha, we lost Shane, Rian, Aidan, Rory, Shay…”
“Who was the sixth? You said we lost six. So, who was the…No, do not tell me it was Claire!” Screaming and losing his shit barely describes what was happening on the other end of the phone. With the growl of his wolf, “Tell me Who. The. Fucking. Sixth. Wolf. Was!!”
“Alpha, I’m sorry, but it was Claire. She said you wanted this done right and quick, so she had to come along. There could be no fuck ups. I’m sorry, Alpha, but I am in no position to question her.”
“My sister!!” Then chaos ensued. One can assume he shattered the phone as the line went dead.
“Cian, do you think we should even bother flying back home?”
“Niall, don’t be an idiot. Of course we are going home. Luckily, it’s a long flight, and we don’t leave till tomorrow. However, I do think we better get the hell out of here before the search parties start. We don’t need to be caught by any of the Whitewood Dire wolf pack, especially their Alpha. We’ll go to the hotel, clean up, and get something to eat. I would say we can just leave out tonight, but that could seem out of place and draw attention. After we eat, we’ll get some sleep, wake early, check out, and get our asses to the airport. The sooner we put some serious distance between us and the Whitewood pack, the better.”
“Cian, have you thought this through? I mean, yeah, sure, we killed the pup’s parents, but that also got Claire and the guys killed. Do you seriously think we’ll be welcomed openly back home?”
“Niall, think about it this way. Could we have told Claire, our first Beta, to stay home and let the men handle this? Hell no, she would have skinned us alive, used our fur as rugs, and thrown our carcusses to the vultures. We had no choice but to follow her orders. The Alpha will see reason, and he’ll see it before we even get back. Just relax. Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
After leaving Aspen, Cian and Niall grab some food on their way to the hotel. With Niall waiting in the rental, Cian checks them in and gets the room key. Getting back into the car, he drives them to the back side of the hotel. “I got us a room in the back just in case. I don’t want to take any chances. We’ll go in, shower, eat, and get some sleep. I asked the front desk for a wake up call at four in the morning. We still have to drive into Denver and drop off the rental. Besides, I hate flying, so the sooner we can get this over with the better.”
Getting out of the car, Niall looks at Cian, “How are you this calm? Aren’t you scared of what our Alpha is going to do to us?”
Sighing and opening the hotel room door, “Niall, man, you really need to relax. Our Alpha may be a mean sob, but he is reasonable. Yes, he is angry now, but not at us, and that is what’s important. He will realize no one could have stopped his sister. If he takes revenge for her death, it won’t be taken out on us. He will take it out on the Whitewood Pack. Trust me.”
Receiving their wake up call made both Cian and Niall jump. They didn’t mess around. Getting dressed and jumping into the rental, they got to the Denver Airport in forty minutes. Having no time to waste, they dropped off the rental and hoped on a shuttle to get to their terminal.
Almost as soon as they arrived, they were called to board. “Cian, I thought we were going to be a bit early.”
“We were supposed to be, but you saw the traffic. It doesn’t matter, we’re here and boarding. I want to take off as quickly as possible. I really do hate this part, taking off, landing, I hate it.”
Hearing the announcements about to start, Cian visibly relaxes. “Good morning ladies and Gentlemen, welcome aboard Irish Air. Please remember to keep all electronic devices off or on Airplane mode till we reach our cruising altitude. If everyone will buckle their seatbelts, we should be pulling away from the terminal any minute. Thank you.”
“I am going to sleep. Don’t wake me up till we land and have to deal with whoever is picking us up.”
“Cian, come on, we need…”
“Nothing, we need nothing. Go to sleep, and when we wake up, we will be home. I don’t want to deal with anything till then.”
Doing exactly as he said he would, Cian slept the entire flight. Niall couldn’t complain either, because he did as well. They didn’t wake till the flight attendant woke them. Hearing an announcement about to start, Cian and Niall sat up straight to pay attention.
“Good afternoon, Flight attendants, please prepare for landing.”
“Ladies and Gentlemen, if you would all close and latch your trays in an upright position as well as your seat backs, we would appreciate it. Please make sure your lap belts are fastened. Another flight attendant will be walking by with a bag to throw any remaining trash away. Thank you for your cooperation, and thank you for flying Irish Air. We hope you choose us for your future travel needs.”
“This is your Captain, we are starting our descent now. Cabin crew, please take your seats for landing.”
“Cian,”
“Niall, not now man. You know taking off and landing fecking freak me out. Let’s get on the ground. Then I swear you can ask or say whatever it is you want to say. Alright?”
Laughing, “Okay, Cian, okay.”
Feeling the wheels touch the ground and the Captain apply the brakes, Cian sags with relief.
Lightly laughing, Niall is trying to be more supportive but failing spectacularly at it, “Cian, this is not your first flight. What are you so scared of? People fly safely everyday.”
“Hey, we all have fears. If I remember correctly, you’re afraid of snakes. You don’t see me laughing at that,” Cian quickly changes the subject, “What did you want to say or ask earlier?”
“Oh, do you know who is picking us up from the airport?”
Being interrupted by the sound of an announcement starting, Cian holds up his finger. Signalling Niall to hold on. “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. I’d like to welcome you to Shannon International Airport in County Clare, Ireland. I hope you all enjoyed your flight. If you are coming home, welcome home. If you are here for a visit, we at Irish Air hope you enjoy yourself. Flight attendants, please prepare to deplane.”
Looking over at Niall, “I actually have no clue. When the Alpha ended the call, I assumed by shattering the phone, I couldn’t call him again. Yes, before you ask, I did try. He knew what time our return flight was, so I assume someone will be here to pick us up. I just hope it’s not the Alpha. I am not ready to tell him all the details on top of returning without his sister’s body.”
“Oh Gods Cian, he’s going to kill us. I know I sure as feck would if I were in his shoes.”
“Thanks Niall, you really know how to make someone relax. Whatever happens, happens. There isn’t a damn thing we can do about it now.”
Feeling the plane come to a
complete stop and seeing others standing to collect their belongings, Cian and Niall do the same. Forming a line behind the other passengers, they follow the leader to exit the plane. Only having a carry-on each means they can bypass baggage claim and passing through customs will be a breeze.
“Becca, someone is at the door. Do you want me to answer it?” Jack hollers from downstairs.
“Yeah, please, I am not finished getting dressed. I’ll be down in a few.” I wonder who could possibly be at the door. If mom and dad sent someone to check on us, I swear I’ll flip. I mean come on, we’re not babies.
Opening the front door and falling speechless, Jack freezes, internally freaking out. Okay, Jack, calm down. There is a logical reason two officers are standing on the porch. I mean, we haven’t done anything wrong. We cleaned up after ourselves at Garden of the Gods, hell, we even cleaned up after others who hadn’t made the effort. Breathe girl, calm breathing.
“Miss Raven Becca Sullivan?” asks one of the officers.
Holy shit, this is official. No one calls Becca by her first name. What the fuck…“N-No, I’m her best friend, Jacqueline Kelly. What’s wrong?” she stammers in response.
“I’m Officer Brian McConnel, and this is my partner, Hannah O’Hare. We need to speak to…”
“Jack, who’s at the door?” walking down the stairs with a towel covering her head as she dries her hair, “and why haven't you asked them...” Seeing who’s at the door, Becca sat on the step she was standing on. Feeling her heart start to hammer in her chest.
“You’re Raven Becca Sullivan?”
“Becca, please, and yes, that’s me. What’s going on, what’s wrong?” A feeling of dread washes over her and takes her breath.
Dire Secrets Page 2