by Kimber White
“I won’t ask you to leave the farm, you know. Or your family. And you’re right. We’ll find a way. I just may need to ask you for a little bit of patience while we deal with Able.”
“I’m not worried,” I said. Luke gave me a playful smack on the ass.
“Just keep your ears open,” he said. “Nothing can happen to you without me sensing it. Charlie and Marcus are going to keep a watch along your property line. But still, just be careful.”
“You too.” I kissed him one last time then tore myself away to head up the hill toward home.
* * *
Grandpa and my father were waiting for me on the front porch. So much for my plan to sneak around them and change. But, maybe it was better to face them both head on. I made it as far as the gravel drive before my father charged down the porch steps and grabbed me by the shoulders.
“My God, girl, where the hell have you been?” He shook me hard enough that my teeth rattled. Dad’s eyes were wild with anger. I tore myself from his grasp and staggered backward.
“What’s the matter with you?”
My grandfather hobbled down from the porch with his cane. “Are you all right?” he asked. Grandpa’s eyes were just as desperate as my father’s and dread crept up my spine.
“What’s going on?”
“You disappeared. No word. It’s almost noon, Patsy,” Grandpa said. “The Gaithers called and said they found the pickup abandoned by the side of the road. We’ve been worried sick and calling all over town.”
I slapped my hand to my forehead. I felt awful for worrying them. But, by the same token, I hadn’t done anything my father hadn’t done to me a thousand times since my mother died. I bit my tongue past the retort bubbling up inside of me to remind him of that very fact. I settled for an “I’m fine,” as I tried to brush past the pair of them. My father stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder.
“Where have you been, Patsy?”
Despair crept into his eyes. It unsettled me. I understood his worry, but something else seemed very wrong.
“What’s the matter? The both of you? Grandpa, you told me to go last night. What kind of trouble did you think I’d get into? When have I ever just taken some time to myself? I’m a grown woman; did you forget that?”
I prayed the truth of where I’d been and what I’d done wasn’t written all over my face like it always was. Not now, I thought. For once, let me have a good poker face.
“You left here with your brother,” Grandpa said.
Letting out a sigh, I pulled myself away from my father again. “For heaven’s sake. What did Harold tell you? I was mad at him, okay? He was being...well...he was being Harold. We had an argument. By the look on both of your faces, I’d say he’s blown it way out of proportion. Where is he? I’ll talk to him.”
“Patsy, your brother hasn’t come home either.” My father’s voice took a grim tone. He looked toward the house. It shouldn’t have mattered. Harold ran off all the time just like my dad did. He’d never stayed out all night before. I felt an echo of pain where Able’s wolves scratched me and my heart turned to stone.
“Where’s Harold, honey?” Grandpa said.
It was then I noticed the shotgun leaning against the porch steps. My father caught me looking and charged past me. He grabbed the shotgun and started toward the barn.
“Dad, what’s going on?” I wanted to pretend this was any other day. That Harold and I had a regular fight. He was just blowing off steam down by the lake or he’d gone to the drive-in like he wanted and spent the night at one of his friend’s houses. Those were normal things and made the most sense. Except, I knew in my heart none of it was true.
“There are wolves out there,” Dad said. He checked his weapon. I shot a look toward my grandfather. He’s set his jaw into a hard line. For once, he didn't disagree with Dad.
“What are you talking about?” I don’t know why I played dumb.
“The Gaithers found more than the truck.” My father whirled around and came toward me again.
God. Had they followed me? Had they seen me with Luke by the lake? No. That couldn’t be it. The pack had been on patrol and Luke would have sensed if anyone came near us.
“Two of Willie’s ponies got tore up bad last night,” Dad said. “They found wolf tracks all over the western edge of his property line.”
“How does he know it’s wolves?”
“Coyotes don’t tear up horses, Patsy.”
I ran ahead of him and pulled open the barn door. My heart pounding, I went from stall to stall. All of our animals were accounted for except for Barney. Rascal pounded his front hoof when I walked by as if he wanted to tell me something.
“He just must have wanted to go for a ride this morning,” I said, wishing Barney’s absence would ease my mind. Normally, it would have. But, Able’s wolves were out there last night. Why they would have messed with the Gaither’s horses I couldn’t guess, but if Harold was out there, he wasn’t safe. Oh, why hadn’t he listened to me and run straight home?
“I’m meeting Willie and some of the others out by the cabin. We’ll start there because that’s the last place I saw those pups. We’re going to put an end to this one way or another.”
My father pulled King George out of his stall. A coal black shire horse, King was the fastest we had and had been my mother’s favorite. He was also the least shy around guns.
I went for Rascal as Dad started to tack King. “I’ll go with you,” I said. Some way, somehow, I had to get a warning to Luke. I had no fears that Dad or Willie Gaither or any of the rest of the men from Wild Lake could do real damage to Luke or the others. But, if Able’s wolves had caused trouble out at the Gaither’s farm, it meant they were getting closer, bolder, and put what happened to me in an even more sinister light. It was coordinated.
“You’ll do no such thing,” my father said. He spat his words with a hostility I’d rarely seen from him.
“Dad, what’s gotten into you?”
“The better question is what’s gotten into you? You’ve been lying to me. You and your brother both.”
My heart raced as I searched his face. I had no way to answer him that would make any sense. If he suspected where I’d been last night or what I’d been doing, the truth was, it was none of his business. Like it or not, I was a grown woman and I would not apologize for any of it.
“Lloyd!” Grandpa called from the front yard.
“I’m going with you,” I said, standing toe to toe with my father. Though he towered over me, I wouldn’t back down. Not today.
“Dad,” I said. “I can’t tell you everything. Not yet. But, I’m asking you to trust me. It’s not safe for you or the others to go traipsing off in the woods looking for wolves.”
His eyes narrowed and a line of worry formed between his eyes.
“Patricia Bonner, you tell me right now where your brother is. What have you gotten mixed up in?”
I put my hands on my hips. “I don’t know where Harold is. That’s the God’s honest truth. I do know someone who can help us find him. But you cannot go wolf hunting today.”
“Lloyd!” Grandpa shouted again, his voice rich with alarm.
“Just head up to the house, Grandpa!” Dad shouted back. “Patsy and I have this under control.”
“Dad, please.”
His shoulders sagged and he slung the shotgun over his shoulder. “You’ve been with one of them, haven’t you?”
My throat ran dry and it got hard to breathe. Understanding flashed in my father’s eyes and it burned through me. He knew? How could he know? I had so many questions I didn’t know where to start.
“Dad, it isn’t what you think.”
“Where is he, Patsy?”
“Who, Harold? I told you, I don’t know. But, if you’ll let me find out…”
“Lloyd!” Terror ripped through my grandfather’s throat. My father and I looked at each other for an instant, then we ran out of the barn toward Grandpa’s scream.
&nbs
p; He stood on the last porch step, clutching the railing for support. His cane had fallen into the dust. All color had drained from Grandpa’s face and he raised one gnarled hand, pointing toward the woods on the north side of the barn.
My heart became a jackhammer inside my chest. Without thinking, I called for Luke before I even let my eyes follow the line of my grandfather’s trembling finger. Because, I already knew. I felt scores of yellow eyes boring into me.
Grandpa got to my father first and hooked his hands under Grandpa’s arms before he collapsed into the dirt. Shaken, I finally turned toward the woods.
They were there, Able’s wolves. Dozens of them. I looked left and right and all around. The farm was surrounded.
Chapter Fifteen
Dad let go of Grandpa, racked a round, and aimed at the tree line. Before I could warn him against it, he got off a shot. The sound cracked through me, nearly stopping my heart. We couldn’t fight them all off, there were far too many.
The faint echo of a second pulse reached my ears. I called out with my mind, not knowing if Luke could hear. My father raised his shotgun a second time.
I’m coming! Luke’s words slammed into my brain. Lunging forward, I put a hand on my father’s arm.
“Dad, wait!”
My father turned to me. “For what?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but realized I didn’t have one. I just knew that even if he was lucky enough to kill one of these wolves with a single shot, they’d keep coming. Only Able could stop them. Somehow, some way, we had to stop Able.
I don’t remember making a conscious decision, but before I knew it, I had moved away from my father and run into the house. I heard my father and grandfather’s shouts of warning, but they seemed so distant, as if they were underwater. Heading for the basement, I went to the gun case at the bottom of the stairs. I couldn’t seem to make my fingers work as I worked the lock. Finally, I pulled open the heavy metal door and pulled out my brother’s 12-gauge and loaded it. I grabbed Grandpa’s hunting rifle and extra ammunition.
Luke’s pulse beat along with mine. He was getting closer. Maybe that should have given me relief; instead, new fear kindled inside of me. There were just too many wolves out there. Luke would fight to the death to try and keep his children and me safe. Even with the whole McGraw pack, they were just eight wolves against dozens.
I ran back out the front door. Grandpa gripped the porch railing and his breathing came labored, but he was still on two feet. I thrust his rifle in his hands. “Do you think you can still shoot straight if it comes to it?”
Grandpa gave me a steely-eyed expression. His legs wobbled, but his hands were steady as he checked the weapon and balanced the stock against his shoulder. We exchanged a nod and I grabbed a stool from the side of the house.
“Long as I don’t have to walk and shoot,” he said, planting himself on the stool. He aimed toward the woods.
“We’re just wasting bullets unless we can flush out their Alpha,” I called to my father. He’d moved further into the yard about halfway to the barn. Able’s wolves grew bolder and had stepped out from the cover of the trees. They formed a circle of threat around the perimeter of the yard. Eyes flashing and teeth snapping, they waited for orders. With any luck, those orders would never come.
I kept my weapon ready as I went to my father’s side. “Able!” I called out. Dad shot me a look, but didn’t stop me. “I know you can hear me. I know you can see everything your pack sees. Stop hiding behind them and come out!”
Careful! Luke’s command slammed into my thoughts. He was closer, moving in from the east. I struggled to keep my breath steady as I stepped away from my father’s side. A large black wolf moved out of formation, edging forward. I jerked my weapon, aiming right between his eyes.
“Patsy!” my father shouted. “Don’t take another step.”
“This has to end, once and for all,” I told him.
“It’s not our fight,” he yelled. “Do you hear me, wolf? This is Wild Lake. Your war doesn’t concern us.”
“The hell it doesn’t!” My grandfather hollered from the porch. “Christ Almighty, Lloyd. When are you going to stand for something?”
My aim wavered and I looked back at my grandfather. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why the hell didn’t you both tell me? You knew about the wolves this whole time. How do you keep something like that from me?”
“How the hell do you tell something like that?” my father answered. Though I wanted to protest, I realized he made a certain degree of sense. Just a few short months ago, I might have thought he was crazy if he’d told me there were such things as wolf shifters.
A low, sharp growl drew my attention away from my father. I steadied my weapon and aimed at the black wolf again. Instinct told me the gun wouldn’t help. These wolves could likely tear me apart before I even got a shot off. Still, my need to stand and fight burned strong.
Something about the air changed. Sizzling energy came up from the ground and made my limbs tingle. The line of wolves to the northwest parted. The trees rustled behind them and Able Valent stepped out of the shadows. His yellow wolf eyes burned with fire as he came toward me. Alarm raced through me and Luke’s pulse became erratic. He was in his wolf now and running fast.
I kept my weapon trained on Able. It earned me a sly smile as he calmly walked within ten feet of me and stopped.
“Your father’s right,” he said. “This isn’t your fight.”
I wished I could communicate with my father and grandfather the way I could with Luke. Though I knew I couldn’t bring Able down alone, maybe if the three of us shot him at once, it could slow him down enough to loosen his hold on the pack. Would any of them challenge him if they had their own heads for a few moments? Were they too far gone to be saved?
“And you know why you’re wrong,” I said. The mark at the base of my neck began to throb from Able’s presence. He sensed it too and that wicked smile of his widened.
“So you’re Luke McGraw’s whore now,” Able said. “Don’t suppose he told you how dangerous that’s going to make life for you from now on. Why don’t you ask him what happened to his last one?”
I knew what he was doing. He wanted to unsettle me or at least my father. “You’re the worst kind of coward, Able. You can’t get a pack to follow you by choice, so you’ve forced this one against their will.”
Able’s eyes darkened and he bared his teeth. “I’m taking back what’s rightfully ours. Wild Lake is wolf territory. By the end of the day it will be my territory. It’s not too late for any of you. I’m willing to let you stay here and work the farm. Your life can, for the most part, remain as it was. There might even be a place for you within the pack, Patricia.”
Able reached for me and I tightened my grip on the gun. His smile took a sadistic tilt. “Call to your lover.”
I felt Able’s hold on the pack. It tightened around me like a vice grip. Though he hadn’t laid a hand on me, a band of pressure circled my neck and it got hard to breathe. The pack moved as a single unit, closing the circle around us. Only Luke’s voice inside my head gave me the weapon I needed to fight back. My Alpha’s mark burned and I drew strength from it somehow, pushing against Able’s command.
I fired off a shot. Able dodged it neatly, turning to the side. My bullet ripped through the tree bark on a tall maple behind him. Able’s face changed for an instant, becoming more wolf than human, but he recovered quickly and turned back toward me.
“Get away from me, Able,” I said. “I’d die before I let you touch me or anyone that I love.”
Able’s sick laugh turned my stomach. He moved so fast I didn’t even see it, but he was on me, tearing his fingers into the flesh of my upper arm. When my father tried to get to him, Able pushed him away with nothing more than the flick of his wrist. But, the force of it sent my father flying through the air at least ten feet. He landed on his back, his shotgun slamming to the ground behind him.
“Then it’s time for you to see what
happens when you don’t do as you’re told.”
Able raised his hand. His fingers lengthened to black claws and arced high above me. Luke’s command flooded through me, forcing me to my knees just before Able’s strike would have torn me in two.
Able faltered, perhaps stunned by how quickly I moved. But, it was Luke’s power that poured through me now. For the rest of my life, I would wonder what might have happened if Able hadn’t lost control for those few precious seconds. With his focus trained directly on me, he didn’t see the line of movement to the north, charging up the hill.
Barney came at full gallop with Harold screaming bloody murder, clinging to his back. Luke’s pack broke through the line of wolves guarding the barn. Someone yelled to Harold. I scrambled back in a crab crawl, struggling to get away from Able’s next murderous blow.
It never came. Instead, his head snapped around as he caught my brother’s charge in his periphery. With the flick of his hand, he changed our lives forever.
Three of Able’s wolves broke formation and lunged for Harold, pulling him off Barney’s back. The black wolf swiped his mighty paw across Harold’s face. From my vantage point on the ground, it seemed he tore it clean off. An arc of blood splattered the ground and I finally found my voice to scream.
Chapter Sixteen
Everything seemed to happen at once. The black wolf moved in for the kill as my helpless brother twitched on the ground.
It was Victor’s wolf who got to him first. I felt Luke beside me, calling to Victor, commanding him. Victor’s wolf threw his body between Able’s wolves and my brother. The black wolf tore his fangs into Victor’s side.
Able made a grab for me. I kicked out with all the force I had. My father found his feet again and raised his weapon. His shot cracked through the air and tore a chunk out of Able’s shoulder. It didn’t stop Able’s advance.
Another shot whizzed over my head as Grandpa joined the battle. He aimed for the black wolf poised to sink his fangs into Victor’s neck, who lay prone on the ground. His aim was far too wide and the bullet ricocheted off the barn, spooking Barney.