by Beverly Rae
The hunters dropped the tailgate and scrambled out. Max slid out of the driver’s side and motioned for them to follow the others. “Come on, folks. Time to get the party started.”
Syd mumbled a vow to stop this horror before it went any further and hopped off the tailgate. “Max, we are not coming.” Yet her bravado died when the hunters and Max turned to scorch their stares into her. She opted for a less direct approach. “Uh, we’re afraid the vermin might pick up Jason’s uh, aroma and get scared off.” She sent him a silent apology for both the vermin crack and the dig at his fragrant body.
“Maybe they’ll think it’s an old woman they can attack.”
One of the quiet hunters they’d ridden with slapped his comical friend’s shoulder. “Good one, Nick.”
But Max didn’t laugh. “Don’t worry about it. You’re coming.” His hard stare fixed on Jason. “Both of you.”
“Uh, no. I don’t think we can.” Think! We cannot go on this hunt.
“You heard him, Sydney. You and your friend are with us.” Skeller came up beside them and handed Jason a rifle. “Do you know how to use one of these?”
Jason answered through gritted teeth. “Yeah, I do, but─”
“Shoot them while they’re in their wolf body. No one wants to explain a dead human to any snooping authorities.” Instead of chuckling along with the other men, Skeller zoned in on Jason as though challenging him to refuse.
Syd scowled at her father. “Of course. It’s so much easier to mount a wolf’s head on the wall than a human’s. Right?”
Her distraction worked to turn Skeller toward her. “They’re animals no matter what form they take.” He pointed a finger at her. “You best remember that.”
“Here, take this back.” Jason tried to thrust the gun back at Skeller, but he wouldn’t take it. “I don’t plan on─”
A shot rang out and sent them jumping, but Jason was the first to recover. “Sounds like someone beat us to the kill.” He shot her a look filled with dread.
Hunters started running across the parking lot and down an alley. Syd grabbed him and pulled him a couple of steps in the other direction. “Come on. This is our chance to get out of here. Hey!” He broke away from her grasp and dashed in the direction of the hunters. Not understanding, but unwilling to let him face whatever danger lay ahead without her, Syd rushed after him.
She tried to catch up with Jason but couldn’t match his pace. His long legs ate up the ground, taking one stride to two of hers. He rounded a corner and she lost sight of him. Fear seared into her. “Jason, wait up!”
She needn’t have bothered. Once around the corner, she slid to a halt, barely stopping before bumping into him. He stood, rifle braced on his shoulder and pointed at the group of hunters in front of him.
“Jason?” Was he about to shoot her father and his friends? She reached for the gun, but didn’t make it in time.
He pulled the trigger and his shoulder rocked from the shot. The hunters whirled to face him. What had he done? And what would they do?
Skeller thundered toward him, his face red and furious. Jason lowered his rifle and set his feet apart, staring straight at Skeller and ready for whatever would happen next.
Bumping his chest against Jason’s belly, Skeller roared, “What the hell did you shoot for? Shit, if you had to shoot, why couldn’t you have at least shot in the right direction? All you did was run the animal off.”
Understanding hit Syd and she almost smiled. Jason hadn’t intended to harm the hunters. Instead, he’d given the shifter a chance to escape.
“Gee, sorry. Guess I’m not used to this rifle. But no harm done. I’m sure I saw two other shifters escaping down this other way.” Jason shrugged. “Isn’t going after two better than going after one?”
Skeller sneered, started to say something more, then loped over to the other hunters. After a brief discussion with Max, they headed off in pursuit of the two werewolves.
Jason’s wink lifted her spirits. What now?
“I think I fooled them.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He whirled around and, throwing his words over his shoulder, followed the hunters. “Too bad two of nothing isn’t better than one of something. But they’ll never know I lied.”
She caught up to run beside him, her legs again pumping twice to his one easy stride. “So you sent them on a wild goose chase?”
“More like a wild wolf chase. This way we can say we tried without actually shooting anything.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Yet their hopes came crashing down when they caught up with the hunter group. Max, Skeller, and the other hunters had their sights set on a couple of werewolves cornered against a wall. One hunter stood in front of a fire ladder, blocking the shifters’ only means of escape.
Syd grabbed his arm, whirling him toward her. “I thought you didn’t actually see anything.”
Jason, his body straight and tense, stared ahead. “I didn’t. This is an accident. Crap, this day just keeps getting worse.”
Even though she knew she shouldn’t, Syd couldn’t help but point out the similarities. “You mean you made a mistake—like the one my mom made?”
He blinked and looked at her with an indescribable expression. At last, he returned his attention to the two growling shifters about to get exterminated and handed her his gun. “Take this.”
She watched in horror as he started to shift, allowing his fangs to emerge. Trying to keep her voice low, she yanked on his arm and pleaded with him. “No. Don’t. It won’t help them if you end up dead along with them.”
“I have to do something. I can’t stand by and watch them get slaughtered.” His eyes morphed, turning from dark brown to glittering amber. “You’re right, you know. We really do need to figure out how to make our clothes disappear like they do in the movies.”
He faced her and took her in his arms for a brief hug. “I love you, Syd.” With his breath warming her neck, he bent his head and whispered, “In spite of your family.” Hugging her again, he pushed her away and pulled at the buttons on his shirt.
Sydney’s stomach clenched at the exact moment the idea hit her. “Change back right now, Jason, before they see you. I’m not going to let you die if I have anything to say about it. Stay here.”
Incredibly, he followed her order without an argument. “What can you─?”
But she was already heading toward the hunters before he could finish the sentence.
The group stood in a semicircle around the shifters, taunting their victims.
“Hey, wolfie, wolfie. Wag your tail at me so I can blast your ass off.” The speaker laughed and high-fived his buddy.
“Naw, man. I want to see the fear in their beady little eyes when I blow them back to hell.”
“Eyes or ass, it don’t matter to me. As long as I get to shoot ’em while they’re still in their fur coat.”
“Skeller!”
Her father swiveled toward her. “What, Syd?”
“This is pretty pitiful, if you ask me.” She fisted a hand on one hip. “Talk about no challenge. Shoot, a little kid could kill one of these. Where’s the sport in this?” She scoffed, aware that the hunters kept one eye on her and the other on the werewolves.
Her father lowered his gun. “What are you talking about? It’s always harder to kill them in wolf form than in their human body. They’re faster, fanged and meaner.” He jerked a thumb at the two trapped shifters pacing back and forth in front of the wall. “Stop wasting time, Syd. We’ve got some business to tend to.” A slow smile spread his lips. “Do you want the first shot? Is that it?”
Thank you, Skeller, for giving me an idea. Syd returned his smile. “Yeah. But I also want to make this a little harder. You know, make it more of a challenge.”
“Come on, man. What’s the holdup?” A hunter readied his rifle on his shoulder.
Skeller, however, held up his hand. “Hold up. Let’s hear Syd’s idea. Those two aren’t going anywhere.�
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“Except hell.” The others laughed along with Nick.
“Spit it out, Sydney.” Skeller waited, but she could tell his patience wouldn’t last much longer.
“Okay, here’s the deal. How about we give them a head start?” She worked to put some excitement in her tone. “Like I said, how hard is it to get them like this? Like bull’s-eyes at target practice? Naw, I want more. I want to prove I’m a real hunter. I want to shoot them on the run.” Now she had all their attentions. Even the werewolves had quit pacing to listen.
“So what are you suggesting?” Skeller checked with the others to make sure they were okay with hearing her plan.
Syd paused for dramatic effect and held up a finger. “Listen up and I’ll tell you.” She licked her lips, enjoying the control she held over them. “Here’s what we do. We let them go─”
“What?”
“Hell, no!”
“Are you frickin’ kidding us?”
She waited for the clamor to die down into a grumbling murmur and walked toward the two werewolves, who had started pacing again. “Hang on to your panties, will ya? When I say go, we let these two jump up to that fire ladder. The hunter who waits the longest before shooting and still hits his mark, wins.”
When the hunters didn’t respond, Jason moved up to stand beside her. “Crap, Skeller. I thought you said this was a group of bad-ass hunters.” He snorted in derision. “Shit. They act like they can’t hit a moving animal. Damn. How sad is that?”
The incredulous expressions on the hunters’ faces nearly made Syd laugh. Instead, she managed to shake her head in disbelief, playing along with Jason’s ruse. “I guess we had them pegged wrong, Jason.”
“I can hit anything you can.” Max left the semicircle to stalk up to Jason. Again, the two came nose to nose.
“Prove it.”
“I will.”
Syd saw her chance and jumped in. “Then it’s a contest. There are two shifters and two of you. Each of you gets one shifter to shoot.”
“But I thought you wanted the shot, honey.”
Stay out of this, Skeller. “Naw, it’s okay. Let these two duke it out. Are you two up for it?”
Jason nodded. “Sure. No problem.”
“Yeah, no problem.” But Max’s indecisiveness showed on his face. It wasn’t long before his doubt won out. “Wait a sec.” He glanced at the men around him. “What if the vermin get away?”
Jason laughed, low and mean, pushing harder at Max. “Are you planning on missing your shot? Because I won’t.”
Max couldn’t take the dare to his ego. “Fine. Let’s do it. Sydney, you say when.” He waved at the hunter guarding the ladder to move away, lifted his gun and set his feet apart, ready to fire. Jason copied his motions.
The murmur of the other hunters gave their consent and they moved to let Max and Jason stand side by side in front of the shifters. Syd stood behind them to stare at the nearest shifter. “Shifters, do you understand?”
The two wolves checked with each other before the larger one nodded. Both crouched, ready to spring for the ladder.
“Okay.” Syd darted her eyes toward the fire ladder and sent them an unspoken wish for luck. “Shifters. Hunters. Get ready. Set. Go!”
The shifters bolted for the ladder with the larger one allowing his companion to grab the first step and pull herself up. Within seconds, she was halfway up the ladder and he was right on her heels.
Jason held his rifle on his shoulder and calmly watched their ascent. Max, however, kept checking Jason, waiting for him to fire first.
“Shoot, man, shoot!” Nick shouted at Max when the first shifter grabbed hold of the top of the building.
“But… Which one’s mine?” Max, eyes bugging wide, glared at Syd. “We forgot to choose which one we’re supposed to shoot. Hurry. Tell me!”
Both shifters scrambled onto the roof above. Jason made a funny face and lowered his gun. “Damn, how stupid can we be? You’re right. We totally forgot to choose.”
Syd faked a cringe, held up her palms, and channeled her inner Valley Girl. “Oops. Omigod, I’m so, so sorry. I can’t believe I screwed up so badly.” She turned toward Skeller and sent him her best plea-for-help look. “Really. I’m very sorry. I am beyond dumb sometimes.”
“Damn it!” Max glared at the top of the building. “There’s no way we’ll catch up to them now.”
The others joined Max to stalk around, cursing and venting their anger. Every once in awhile, Max would stop and glower at her. Did he suspect the truth? She swallowed and tried to act more upset about her “mistake”. Jason, fortunately, stayed by her side and kept the disapproving expression on his face, but Syd could see the amused glint in his eye.
After several minutes of tirades, however, Skeller called a halt to the theatrics. “Knock it off, everyone. It was an honest mistake anyone could’ve made.” He slammed a fist in the air to thwart more complaints. “If you’re going to blame Sydney or Jason, you have to blame Max, too. He’s just as responsible for not thinking ahead. Cut out the remarks and let’s head back to our trucks.”
The grumbles continued, with Syd catching the occasional, “Don’t bring that kid of yours on any more hunts.” With any luck, she’d not only saved two werewolves, but finally put an end to Skeller’s hope of making her a hunter.
The group sulked past Syd and Jason, leaving them to bring up the rear. Jason leaned over and whispered in her ear. “You, my sweet mate, are one smart lady.”
“Why, thank you.” But her happiness was short-lived when Skeller turned around to wait for them.
“Sydney, I bet you’re just torn up about this, huh?”
Syd stumbled for words and gave up. The misery on Skeller’s face made her wish she could’ve found a way for the shifters to go free without making him unhappy. “Oh, I’ll be okay, Dad.”
He gave her a soft smile and shook his head. “No need to put on a brave face. I know how disappointed you must be. How about staying at home tonight instead of alone in that little apartment?”
The man could be sweet sometimes, no doubt about it. She’d just spoiled his hunt and he was worried about her. “Oh, thanks, Sk-er, Dad, but I want to go home to my own bed.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Skeller. I’ll stay with her and make sure she’s okay.” Jason took her other arm, placing her between the two men she loved. “I’ll stay on the couch in case she needs me.”
Her father hesitated for a moment, distrust mixing with the concern on his face. “I don’t know. I still think─”
“Trust me, Dad. Jason will be right outside my bedroom door. Just in case I need someone. But I promise I’m fine. Disappointed, sure, but fine. I don’t know what happened to me. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing the shifters. You know, the thrill of the hunt and all? I simply forgot to let the shooters choose first. Pretty lame of me.”
The way her father studied first her then Jason roped her stomach into a knot. Had he believed her lie?
“Well, I guess if someone stays with you…”
“Agreed.” She hugged her father’s arm to seal the deal and led him toward his truck.
“But if I let you go home, I want you to promise me something.”
Syd checked on Max. He’d dropped back to stay in step with them and was intently listening to every word. Wouldn’t he have said something by now if he knew she’d meant to screw-up? Wanting to leave him far behind, she hurried to the passenger’s side. “Promise what, Dad?” She hadn’t used the Dad word this often since she was five years old.
“I think Jason should come to your birthday party tomorrow.” Skeller tipped his head toward the shifter. “It’s a small family get-together. No big to-do.”
Huh? She’d expected promises of taking it easy or calling her mother, but nothing about her party. Heck, in all that had happened the past few days, she’d completely forgotten about her birthday. Yet knowing her father, he had a reason for bringing up the occasion, and she got the impression his rea
son wasn’t a good one for either of them.
“Your birthday’s tomorrow?” Jason smiled at her and started to get in beside her.
“Stop right there.”
Syd held her breath. Oh, no. Here it comes. Skeller’s up to something.
“You’ll ride in the bed, boy. I don’t think I can tolerate much more of your cologne.”
Syd released her breath and giggled in relief. Looking relieved, Jason nodded and jumped over the side to land gracefully in the bed.
Her father put the truck in gear and rattled on about her party. She relaxed against the seat and turned her head to look out the window, almost ready to believe they’d dodged a bullet—both figuratively and literally. At least, until her gaze met Max’s angry one. Max rested against his truck and watched them pull out of the parking lot, and her stomach turned over with a sickening feeling.
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Jason checked the address again and studied the two-story frame house. So this is where Syd’s family lives? He glanced around the typical suburban neighborhood of modest cookie-cutter homes and well-tended lawns and tried to imagine a block party filled with gun-toting hunters, their wives and little hunter-wannabes carrying imaginary rifles and playing Hunters and Shifters.
Sheesh. What would my brother, Daniel, or the rest of the pack think? Would they have me committed if they knew what I was about to do? If they did throw me in the loony bin, I wouldn’t blame them one bit. This time, he’d be walking into a den of hunters under his own steam. Although Syd had reassured him that her family would never harm her if they knew the truth, he’d have to make sure she’d stay safe.
Jason shook his body to lessen the tension setting up shop in his neck then marched to the front door. “I am certifiably crazy.” If anyone had told him he’d be walking into a hunter’s home a week earlier, he’d have laughed himself silly. Yet, here he was, heading straight into who knew what.