TALA

by Laura Ryles

  Chapter 10

  Tala realized Ander was still holding her from her stumble, so she quickly turned away and kept climbing up the hill. “So, back there, you said you could smell me. Is that a wolf thing? You can smell me? I have a scent?”

  “Yes, it’s a wolf thing. I have a better sense of smell than most humans, but it’s not very developed yet. I’m not much older than you, so I haven’t been a wolf very much. With you, it was different, though. It wasn’t just that I could smell your scent, I could almost see in my mind where you were without even sniffing. I guess my sense of smell must be improving.” He smiled, like he was proud himself. Tala thought he was kind of cute when he looked sure of himself. He turned and kept walking, and her gaze wandered to his wonderfully accentuated posterior. Those jeans looked terrific on him.

  Stop it, Tala! Pay attention to where you’re walking. Eyes on the ground, not his butt or his face. Eyes. On. The. Ground. “How far are we going to have to walk?” Tala asked. They had reached the top of the hill, and she took in the vast number of trees surrounding them. It was dark and she couldn’t see much, but she could tell by the lack of light that they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

  “Just a couple of hours,” Ander said. He pushed past to lead her onward.

  “Ugh!” she moaned as she brought up the rear. As they continued on their journey through the never ending snow-covered wood, Tala followed in Ander’s footsteps, processing all of the information he’d given her. Her dad was a shapeshifter, a wolf, an Alpha who had promised her away to some other pack. She was a shapeshifter, too, or at least she would be in a day or so, and she knew she would probably be genetically defective, according to Ander. Oh, and she was somewhere in Canada, on her way to be married to a man she had never seen and already didn’t like.

  Her teeth chattered from the cold. The sky seemed to be lightening, and she realized that it must be past dawn by now. Suddenly she remembered that her birthday was tomorrow. Oh God, how was she going to get out of this? She wished she was at home with her mom, planning the party she hadn’t wanted. Instead, she was out here freezing her face off, following psycho boy into the wild white yonder.

  Ander slowed down to let her catch up. When they were side by side, he reached out for her hand. “What?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Give me your hand.”

  “Why?”

  “Just give it to me.”

  Warily, she let him take her hand. He wrapped his much larger hand around hers and slid it into the pocket of his oversized fur coat as they kept in step with one another. He remembers the story I told him about my father. She smiled inside, but she didn’t let her face betray it. She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had made her feel even the slightest bit better. Her teeth stopped chattering. She liked this.

  “Come on,” he said, looking over at her. “We’re here.”

  About time. As they passed into a clearing in the woods, she counted at least fifteen rustic wooden cabins. They looked as if they had been made from trees felled from this very forest. It had a clean and pristine feel, since it was all covered in white powder, just like the forest. The crunch of their feet was louder without the trees all around them to muffle the echo. Ander led her past several of the cottages and over towards what looked like the base of a mountain. As he led her closer and closer, she saw a great wooden door, almost indiscernible from the rock in which it was embedded.

  Chapter 11

  Tala’s breath caught as they entered. There were torches on the wall and carpets on the floor. It was warm, despite the freezing temperatures outside. They walked further into the hallway, and she noticed that some of the things around her were very old. The tapestries appeared to be hundreds of years old, and they depicted wondrous scenes of wolves -, dancing, fighting, and playing. Some even had wolves helping humans. Great spears and shields were hung alongside the tapestries as well.

  Everything looked ancient. It was clear that this hall had been here for a very long time. It was like walking into a Viking stronghold. Someone rounded the corner at the other end of the hall and stopped when he saw the two of them standing at the entrance. “Ander, when did you get back?” A boy with hair as blonde as Ander’s and the same sparkling blue eyes asked as he ran up and put his arms around Ander’s waist.

  “Literally just now,” Ander answered, ruffling the kid’s hair.

  “This her?” the boy asked.

  “Yes. Colton, this is Tala, the future Timber Alpha. Tala, this is my little brother, Colton. We call him Colt for short.”

  “Hey, Colt. So, wait, I’m the future Alpha of the Timber pack?” Tala looked astonished. She wished someone would just tell her everything, so she could quit getting surprised by new revelations.

  “Oh, yeah. Your father was the Alpha; now that he’s gone, it passes to you. That’s why you’re such a hot commodity. You were your dad’s only child, which makes you the future Alpha of your pack. It’s in your blood. The only way you won’t be Alpha is if someone challenges you, but that rarely happens outside of family lines,” Ander answered.

  Well, at least that answered some of her questions, like why someone would go to all the trouble of having her kidnapped. Apparently, she was that important. While she was pondering this, an older male came around the corner and stopped when he saw the three of them standing at the mouth of the cave house.

  “Ander, my son, I see you were able to fulfil your duty after all.” He came a few steps closer, towering over Tala, looking her up and down. “So, you’re the girl child that your father wanted to hide? Probably not much of a wolf, if what I’ve heard about your mother is true. Why is she not bound? Surely she didn’t come willingly?”

  “Not exactly, but she won’t run, Alpha,” Ander answered.

  “I think it best not to take any chances. The marriage ritual cannot be performed until tomorrow, so tie her up and lock her in a room somewhere.” He looked at Ander with contempt and then turned his eyes toward Tala once more before walking away. She was sure that his face had shown disgust when he looked back at her. It made her feel uneasy. He didn’t seem to even like her, much less act like he wanted to marry her. Ander asked Colt to go get some rope, and when he returned with it, Ander bound her hands together again. Colt left then and walked out of sight around the corner, just like their father.

  As soon as they were alone, she said, “Why are you doing this? Please just let me go. It’s obvious that he doesn’t really like me. Please just let me go.” She could see the pain in Anders' eyes as he wrapped the ropes around her wrists. He didn’t want to tie her up again.

  “I have to. He’s the Alpha. Don’t you get it? I don’t have a choice. I can’t say no to him.”

  “Have you ever even tried? Maybe you can. Please don’t do this,” Tala pleaded. She could see that Ander was struggling. Still he led her to a room just off the main hallway and sat her down on a chair in the corner. He tied her legs to the chair and looked into her eyes. She could see the sorrow there and the conflict. “Please,” she said as he tied one last knot in the rope, binding her legs to the chair.

  “I’ll be back with something for you to eat,” he said. He let out a sigh and brushed her hair behind her ear. After that, he was gone, and she heard the lock click into place.

  This is it, she thought. There’s no way out now. Looking around the room for something, anything that might help her escape, there was nothing. Nothing but an old bed and the chair that she was tied to. There weren’t any windows, so she couldn’t tell how long it was before Ander returned, but she guessed it must have been several hours before she heard the lock click open again. Relief washed over her when he walked back into the room. Her stomach growled, and she realized that she hadn’t eaten since the restaurant. She was quite hungry, but Ander came into the room empty-handed. Where’s the food?

  “I thought you were going to bring me something to eat. I’m starving.” She reprimanded Ander, pouting.

  �
��Plans have changed,” Ander said breathlessly. He ran over to her and began untying her ropes, “I overheard my father talking to the higher officials of the pack. We have to get you out of here.”

  Wait, now she was confused. “I thought you couldn’t disobey the Alpha,” she said as the knot holding her legs to the chair came loose. Ander grabbed her hands and snatched her out of the chair.

  “I’m not supposed to. But…” He paused midsentence and pulled her toward the door. She could see the fear on his face, and if she didn’t know any better, she’d think she could hear his heart beating.

  “So then, why are you?” She pulled back, refusing to go any further.

  “He’s going to kill you. He doesn't just want to marry the Alpha of the Timber pack. Once you're married, he’s going to get rid of you, so he’ll be Alpha of both packs. I can’t let him do that. I could have let him marry you and have you as his wife. After all, you’re promised to him. I could live with the pain of watching him have you, but I can’t let him kill you. I can’t let you die.” His words seemed sincere and the look in his eye, showing both the pain and regret, was obvious enough for Tala to believe him.

  “Come on, I’ve made arrangements for a small plane to meet us not far from here. The pilot used to be a pack member. He was excommunicated by my father years ago. I offered to pay him, but he was pretty happy to do it for me as a favor. We have to be quick and we must be silent. My father and his officials are in a meeting about the ritual tomorrow, so we should be able to slip out without too much trouble, but you have to keep up. Can you?”

  “I think so,” Tala replied as he unbound her hands.

  “Okay, follow me.”

  Chapter 12

  They sneaked down the hallway as quietly as they could, staying as close to the wall as possible. “Keep your head down,” Ander whispered.

  As they reached the front door, someone came out of a side room and grabbed Ander by the arm. “Where are you guys going?” It was Colt’s voice. Tala looked up in fear, realizing they’d been caught. She grabbed hold of the back of Anders' shirt.

  “Shh.” Ander grabbed Colt by the collar of his shirt and dragged him out through the front door with them. Once they were outside, Ander let go of Colt’s shirt and told him what their father was planning. Colt’s eyes darted back and forth between Ander and Tala in disbelief. “Are you going to tell?” Ander asked Colt in earnest. Colt looked at Tala. She could see the resemblance to his brother even more when he looked at her with such concern in his eyes.

  “Do you love her? Is that why you want her safe?” Colton asked his brother.

  Ander sighed and looked at Tala. A small smile broke through his worried look, and he said, “I don’t just want her safe, I want her.”

  Tala felt like she was spinning. Did he just admit that he liked her?

  Colt chuckled. “Well, all right then, big bro. My lips are sealed. If anybody asks, I’ll tell them you took her to the bathroom or something.”

  “Thanks, Colt.” Ander ruffled his brother's hair again before reaching back to take Tala by the hand.

  She was still in a daze, but he pulled her forward, back toward the tree line. Oh, great, more hiking.

  They had been running through the woods for about half an hour when they heard it. Howls. Not just one, but a lot. “They know you’re gone,” said Ander.

  “How do you know?”

  “I can feel it, and I can hear them. Once I shifted for the first time, I became very in tune with the pack because I’m next in line to be Alpha after my Dad. They know. He knows, and he’s going to come for you. Run!” Even though they were already running fast, he took her hand and sped up, practically pulling her level with him to keep up. Suddenly they broke through the woods, and just as Ander had said, there was a small plane waiting for them in the middle of the open field. He pulled her forward with even more force and speed than before. They reached the plane, gasping.

  Placing her foot on the step to climb in, Tala hesitated before she turned around and jumped into Ander’s arms. Throwing her arms around his neck, she whispered into his ear, “Thank you.” Tala let go and looked deep into his eyes. “Did you mean what you said? You want me?” Realizing how much she wanted him too, she bit her lip and waited for his answer.

  “I meant it,” he said as he took her hand and kissed it. “Get on the plane. Go home.”

  “What about your dad?” she asked, her voice trembling with worry.

  “I’ll handle him.” Ander kissed her hand again and pushed her onto the first step.

  Just then, she noticed the tree line over Ander’s shoulder. It was moving. Wait, that wasn’t the tree line. It was wolves. The pack had found them.

  “Ander,” she gasped as she pointed to the scene over his shoulder. Ander turned to look at where she was pointing. He shoved her the rest of the way into the plane and slammed the door, shouting at the pilot to get ready for take-off.

  She watched in horror from an open window as the scene unfolded in front of her. The large white wolf in the front could only be Ander’s father. He was much bigger than the rest and much faster. When he reached Ander, he transformed back into a man.

  “Who do you think you are?” his father shouted at him. “I am your Alpha. You will obey my commands, or you will pay dearly for it.” The engine of the plane growled to life. Afraid for Ander, Tala jumped up and ran to the door of the plane. She lifted the escape hatch, and the door flew open.

  “What are you doing?” the pilot yelled from the cockpit. The engine went silent. Tala was about to jump out, when the pilot grabbed her arm. “Just wait. What if he gets killed? You don’t want to be down there with them.” Tala thought about it and decided that the young man was probably right. She nodded and stood solemnly in the doorway, watching the fight unfold.

  “I can’t let you kill her,” Ander answered.

  Dag stepped closer to Ander, and just before he was on top of him, he shifted back into his wolf form. Ander transformed just in time to take the first blow from his father as a wolf. He was just as big as his father, perhaps a little bigger, but the force of the hit knocked him off of his paws for a moment.Regaining his footing, they circled one another, growling and baring their teeth. Then Ander stopped. He turned back into a human and laid himself prostrate in front of his father to show his obedience. Dag turned back into a human as well.

  “You don’t get a say in what I do with her.” His father growled at him. “You don’t get a say in anything. Unless…,” and the Alpha’s face broke into a maniacal grin, “Are you ready to challenge me? Does she mean that much to you that you would take your own father down?”

  At those words, Ander lifted his head slightly and shook it from side to side.

  “It’s time to go,” the pilot said, tugging on Tala’s sleeve. Tala pulled herself away from the door and walked back over to the seat by the window. The pilot closed the door and went to the cockpit. The engine roared back to life and once again, Tala struggled to hear the words being shouted from the ground.

  “I didn’t think so. It doesn’t matter if she gets on that plane. We know where she’s headed. Right back home. Did you think that you were the only one I’d send after her? There was another waiting to take her if you failed me, like I knew you would.” After his last comment towards Ander, the Alpha smiled and stepped back. “Pack, teach my son a lesson.” The pack closed in on Ander.

  She watched in anguish as the plane took off. There was nothing she could do. The last thing she saw before the plane got so far away that she couldn't make anything else out, was the white of the snow disappearing under a blood-red cloud that was spreading across it. Oh no, Ander, she thought. What have I done? This was her fault. He had saved her, and now he was paying for it with his life.

  “Turn around!” she yelled at the pilot, “Turn around, go back!”

  Chapter 13

  “No, ma’am. I’m sorry, but Ander gave me strict orders to take you straight to Atlanta no matte
r what happened,” the pilot answered.

  Several hours passed. All the crying had made it hard to keep her puffy eyes open, so Tala dozed off and on. The pain she felt was undeniable. This was precisely why she didn’t want to love anyone else. It always hurt to lose them. And losing them, it seemed, was inevitable.

  “We’re about to land, miss,” the pilot said in a very gentle voice. He hadn’t spoken to her the entire flight. She guessed he was giving her some privacy to grieve.

  “What do I do now?” Tala sputtered. “I don’t know anyone in Atlanta.”

  “Ander said he contacted someone. They should be waiting when you get off the plane. He told them where we would be landing.” The plane touched down, and he pressed the door release.

  Tala walked over to the exit stairs. “Who?” she asked as she peered out into the twilight just after sunset. Drew. That’s who.

  Drew was waiting behind a fenced area with a sign that said, ‘I’m waiting for the hottest dork at the airport.’ Tala couldn’t help but smile when she saw him.

  She ran to him at full speed and put her arms around him. “Where...the heck...have... you...been?” he asked as he hugged her back. “Your mom wants to kill me because she thinks I’ve been lying about knowing where you were. And have you been with Ander this whole time? I thought you didn’t even really want to go out with him.”

  “Stop, give me a minute. I can’t answer all of that at once.” Tala said. Tears spilled out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

  Drew looked shocked to see her crying. “I’m sorry,” he said. “Are you okay? That should have been my first question. Let’s go home.” Drew wrapped his arm around Tala’s shoulder, and they headed toward the side of the lot where his car was parked.