A Fragile Family

by J. J. Massa

When Lilith had growled at Becker, Jack nearly cringed. In the early days, on the inside, others had tried to claim one of Becker’s chosen. It had not been pretty. For a minute there, Jack had been sure that Lilith would be the first casualty in their little war.

  The car followed the road around to the right and then stayed in the right lane. A green highway sign read GA-754 / GA-136 just before the car turned right.

  “Almost there,” Becker grunted. “Five minutes. Then we get out and walk.”

  Jack nodded sharply, glancing back to the dark green van that followed. Four of Becker’s men and three werewolves rode behind them, making up the rest of their mini-convoy.

  He swallowed heavily, trying not to fidget. What would happen tonight? He remembered the debacle of his last visit here. Tonight he was ready. He fingered the gun in the pocket of his jacket. He didn’t know what it took to kill a werewolf, though folklore said silver bullets.

  Jack didn’t really care about all that. He knew exactly what it took to kill human women.

  ****

  Property of Tracey and Tavist Darke

  Northeast corner

  Two black wolves froze in place, muzzles raised as the scented the night air.

  Exchanging a look of confusion, they raised their snouts a second time.

  Tav was certain that he smelled strange Weres, but there was something else.

  Something new. The wind shifted and the harsh tang of fresh water, rocks, and dirt filled the air.

  The wolves turned, by tacit agreement and headed back the way they had come.

  They weren’t worried so much as they both felt the pull of mates, home, pups. Time to be with family.

  And the wind shifted again. The scent this time was unmistakable. There were strange humans and strange Weres in Tav’s woods, as well as something else. Whatever it was, it was not quite human and not quite other. It was different.

  Marc and then Tav began to run, both stopped by surprise for perhaps a half second. The surprise turned to urgency when Kaden’s call argued with Myles’ and Tayler spoke up, his high pup’s voice carrying the ring of authority in spite of too few years.

  Mik’s deep answering bark would have been reassuring if it hadn’t come on the run.

  Jacob had warned them that something was coming their way—something bad, frightening. They knew about Jack Aschtholdt, and even about Lilith Landon. Either one would have been a threat, but nothing they couldn’t handle—any one of them could.

  In spite of Jacob’s forewarning, somehow, Tav and Marc, too, had convinced themselves that nothing more threatening than a werewolf or maybe a violent human would be along. Even then, they had been convinced it wouldn’t be so soon.

  Ashley had only been returned from lost for a few days. How had Tav come to believe that she was invincible? Was it because she’d made up for the loss of Tate, his long-dead pup who would have been her age? Perhaps it was that she’d suffered so much and come through it all intact, if only on the outside.

  Ashley, Jacob, and Tav had talked earlier. Myles had taken longer than expected and he’d joined her. Sherman had graciously excused himself and the three of them had sat and talked about Jack and the threat he brought them once again. Tav had reaffirmed his love for Jacob and Ashley, and they had for him. Tracey had also joined them. It had been a beautiful moment in a lifetime full of them—one that very well could be the last.

  Tav forced those difficult thoughts from his mind, reminding himself of all that Jacob had told them. Tayler, Ashley, and now Sherman, were special. They were good, very good, in the way of those who were pure of heart. And they were of their pack, the strength and substance which would keep them all safe and directed.

  One amazing Were and two very special humans that were more than beloved family members. They were the future and the very salvation of the pack.

  While he was thrilled to hear the barks, yips and growls of his pack, he couldn’t understand what they were saying, only the fact that they were trading information. The wind was picking up, stirring the scents and sounds until nothing made any sense.

  Sudden, piercing screams and shrieks filled the air, pain, shock everywhere. Tav forced himself faster, burning to be there already, to stop this before it could get worse.

  His wife, his daughter, his son, they were all there, not nearly protected enough. He wasn’t done loving them yet, he had to get there, just had to.

  ****

  Myles heard the strangled yelp, followed immediately by a muted impact sound of a rolling car hitting a tree. The rising wind had hit him with a chaos of scent and snatched it away in the same second.

  Almost impossible to sort out, he smelled first a jumble of Were and human, then blood, the family psychiatrist whose car had been slowly rolling up Darke Woods Road.

  Suddenly, a dark, dirty scent hit the air. A blend of anger and carrion, this one made his blood run cold.

  He’d been walking back to the little house, filling Tracey in on the doctor’s visit.

  Bernadette had been interested, too. Rightfully so, of course, because not only were Ashley and Sherman her crew, Tayler had been asked to join in.

  Now, something threatening was in Darke Woods and Myles was too far. He was less than a mile, less than half of a mile, but that was no reassurance now. Any distance at all would have been too far.

  Kameron snarled out a warning, the wind wreaking as much havoc with him as with Myles. Thank God that Mik was with Kameron, running for Tracey and Bernadette, because Myles had to go to Ashley. Ashley and Sherman were Myles’ immediate family who needed him and needed him now more than ever.

  Thank God also that Rafe was there for Tayler because he was also there for the others. Myles loved them all, it didn’t matter now. But Jacob’s warning rang in his ears, his cautions about the vile thing that lurked and wanted to damage the three perfect souls in the little house.

  Myles fought down panic, the distance between the big house and the little house had never seemed so great. He was so focused on saving them, on getting to them, that only Tayler’s stern yipping alert got his attention. Tayler growled sternly, telling Myles to watch himself because he was no use to them if he allowed his anger to rule.

  Mik barked an alert, low and carrying on the unpredictable wind, Kaden adding his own reassurances. They were there, at the big house, they’d be with Bernadette and Tracey, one out and one in, because humans and Weres were scattered between both houses.

  So close now, Myles could see the back porch through the whipping trees, the swirl of leaves rising and falling to confuse the eyes and the nose. Was that a Were or a porch mat flashing in the low light?

  It wasn’t easy to hurt Myles, but a gunshot would have slowed him down. He caught the intruder’s scent in the intensifying wind when he was almost on top of him.

  His anger at himself was almost as overwhelming as his rage at the human who dared threaten his family.

  The bullet went wild and Myles’ hand shot out, shaking, angry, but on target. He grabbed the man’s forearm and twisted, throwing the broken limb over his shoulder and away, leaving the screaming man to bleed out next to the path.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Home of Tracey and Tavist Darke

  Darke Woods Road

  Talking Rock, GA

  The wind was making her jumpy, blowing her hanging plants around, picking up the swing and dropping it against the tree with a loud thud, over and over. Usually, they secured things when the wind came up like this. Usually, there was some warning.

  Tracey had wanted to be over at the small house, had wanted to hear what Sherman and Ashley had said to the psychiatrist. She wanted to comfort and strengthen her daughter. Tayler had been asked to join them and both Tracey and Bernadette had worried about what he’d hear. A quick chat with Tav and Marc and Tayler himself had reminded them of the year before and how hardened Tayler already was.

  Yes, he was a thirteen year old boy, but he was also a werewolf and a pack alpha who
had witnessed enough carnage already with much more to come, they all knew. The family was under threat and Tayler would not be shielded. He knew that many members of the de la Rosa pack might want to challenge him. Besides that, there was an unnamed threat coming for him now, in addition to Ashley and Sherman.

  Once again her first husband was after Ashley, and no doubt after Tracey, too.

  Add a crazy nearly ex-wife, a multi-million dollar corporation, and some kind of unnamed evil and you either had a good soap opera or a bad day. From Tracey’s perspective, it was looking like a pretty bad day.

  Suddenly, curses and shrieks, barking and growling punctuated the angry wind and Bernadette snatched at Tracey, pulling her back, away from the front door. Snarling was her only warning when a thin, brindled wolf burst through the front door, advancing on her.

  Tracey didn’t have any time to panic, and barely had time to wish for a weapon, things were moving so quickly.

  “That’s my favorite aunt, you piece of shit!” Kameron erupted through the kitchen door, fangs bared and hackles up.

  Tracey stumbled backward, into Bernadette, who wrapped her arms around the smaller woman.

  “Um,” Tracey whispered to Bernadette, “He really doesn’t know you that well yet,” she squeaked, turning to Bernadette, taking her hands and backing away, her sister-in-law holding just as tightly to her.

  Bernadette squeezed her hands tighter, dark skin stark against Tracey’s porcelain complexion. “Don’t worry, honey, it don’t bother me a bit. In fact, right this minute, he’s my most favorite nephew.”

  Tracey meant to answer, say something clever or something reassuring, but another strange wolf burst in, followed by a strange man waving a gun, with another immediately on his heels.

  “Red hair, blue eyes! Here’s one of the one’s we’re supposed to kill.” the man crowed triumphantly, yanking Tracey away from Bernadette.

  Tracey saw Mik crouched in the shadows by the door. It took every ounce of control she could possibly dredge up, but she managed to keep her lips pressed firmly together.

  “What about the black one?” the other man growled, his words punctuated by the growls and snarls going on behind him with Kameron fighting the other wolf.

  “Nobody said nothin’ about shooting no black ones,” the dark skinned man holding Tracey yelped back. “Becker’s black and he might not like it.”

  “Oh, is that so?” objected Bernadette archly, who was obviously scared to death but cocky just the same—or, Tracey hoped, she’d seen Mik in the shadows. “So now you don’t want to shoot me just because I’m black? I bet you think I should be grateful, too.”

  Tracey rolled her eyes and bit her lip, wanting to giggle though noticing that Bernadette moved closer to the black man waving the gun, leaving the field open for Mik.

  With a bellowing roar, Mik erupted from the dark corner of the room. Tracey’s attacker squealed like a frightened six year old and threw his gun at Mik, allowing Tracey to grab Bernadette and run in the other direction.

  She did note in passing that the black man with the gun was no fool, backing toward the door and then scrambling through it, disappearing into the screaming wind.

  Mik took off after him, shouting, “The other house!” to Tav when he came through the back door.

  “Tayler!” Bernadette choked.

  “And Ashley,” Tracey cried, pivoting on her heel o go after Tav when suddenly she was on the ground, looking up into the glowing green eyes of her nephew.

  “Get off me,” Bernadette growled, “Or you’re not my favorite anymore.”

  Kameron leaned down and licked her cheek. “You can’t go. You’ll just make it harder to protect them.”

  Tracey felt her eyes fill with tears. She hated it, but Kameron was right. He knew it, too, licking the tears away and gingerly stepping off of his two aunts.

  ****

  Sometime home of Myles Brooks-Montgomery

  Darke Woods Road

  Talking Rock, GA

  “There’s going to be a very scary man,” Tayler warned them gently, morphing into wolf form as he did so.

  “My biological father?” Ashley asked, nodding. “He hates me. I’m used to it.”

  She was fighting the sound of the wind. It reminded her of the noises from the cave.

  Tayler kicked out of his pants that were caught on one backward doggie knee. His head tipped back and he scented the air. When his eyes narrowed and his hackles rose, Ashley felt a chill of fear.

  Tayler barked out what seemed like an order, though all Ashley could make out was the word, “Myles.”

  “What’s happening, Tayler? Rafe?” she asked, frightened. Sherman took her hand, his eyes fixed on Tayler. He, too, appeared to be fighting the dark memories.

  “There’s a bad man coming for us, Ashley. Your original father is there, and your wife, Sherman, and they want you dead. But this other man, he wants us to hurt,” Tayler explained, staring intently at them. “He wants to make us hurt.”

  “Why?” Sherman wondered, looking toward the window, taking a fireplace poker in one hand. He hefted it lightly, still keeping an arm around Ashley. She leaned forward and picked up the matching wrought iron fireplace shovel with a shrug. At least this was something they could fight. Maybe…

  The wind was blowing stronger now, lifting a bucket on the back porch, branches hitting the windows. Out there somewhere, wolves were barking, vague shrieks that could have been high tension wires or scratching, but she knew they weren’t.

  “It’s because we believe in good things,” Tayler answered Sherman’s question.

  “You and Ashley are good people,” he explained, turning, backing in front of them and facing the door. “Myles and Jacob are coming, they’ll make him go away.”

  Something heavy impacted the door and Tayler’s ears went back in a feral snarl.

  He didn’t look like a cute puppy now. Instead, he looked like a sleek and dangerous wolf, small but deadly. Next to him, Rafe was just as menacing, with his dark eyes glowing, his fangs even whiter against a sea of angry black.

  “Daddy’s home,” a sneering voice pricked as the door slammed open.

  Ashley looked into her father’s eyes for the first time in over a decade, seeing the same hate she always had. He raised a shaking hand that held a gun and Sherman jerked her behind him. At the same time, Rafe shot forward, ripping at the other man’s thigh, bringing him down, but not before Jack squeezed the trigger on his gun.

  A hurtling body covered in dark brown fur that could only belong to Lilith Landon collided with Rafe. The two wolves came together in a clash of snarling, gnashing teeth, blood and fur flying.

  Sherman slumped against her, blood pouring from a wound on his neck. Ashley wrapped her arms around him, trying to pull him away, out of the room, frantic but fighting it. She was barely hanging on, frightened and afraid. Sherman was mumbling very low, but still struggling to heave himself upright, to look after her.

  “S’okay, missy,” a deep molasses voice rumbled from the front door. “Just a scratch.” For some reason, she believed him, and the blood at Sherman’s throat slowed to an oozing trickle, supporting his words.

  Tayler had edged in front of her and Sherman, somehow looking bigger, meaner, more threatening than she could have possibly imagined. His snarls and growls were louder now, enraged.

  “Who are you?” Ashley choked, feeling weak, like all the oxygen was being leached from the room.

  “Don’t speak to him,” Tayler ordered, backing her up, further into the room.

  The big man took a deep breath, as if he were savoring the flavor of air around him. “So good. I’m gonna love making you sing.” He turned toward the man on the floor, her genetic father, whom Rafe had injured. “Shoot that wolf boy over there, and the woman, too if she don’t shut up.”

  Jack raised the gun, sweat pouring down his face and thick, dark blood gushing from his leg. He aimed it at Ashley and Sherman. “Her, Hail, gotta kill her,” he wheezed
.

  “No!” the big man thundered, “Don’t make me hurt you, Jackie.” In an almost gentle voice, he added, “They’ll die, but first, I’m gonna make ‘em sing for me.”

  Ashley had heard and seen many things in less than a quarter of a century, but nothing had ever made her skin crawl and her blood freeze at the same time. She could feel her heart stuttering against her breast bone, terror crawling through her.

  The shiny mahogany face smoothed into a horrifying impression of a smile. “It’s so good, tastes so good already,” he murmured, moving closer. “They’re too loud. Shoot ‘em, Jackie,” he growled, his face changing in an instant, ugly and fearsome.

  Without a word, Jack raised the pistol and shot two times, dropping Rafe soundlessly and then Lilith with a startled yelp.

  The man called Hail turned his frightening face toward the door, fear creeping across his features as Myles strode into the room, and behind him, Jacob.

  “No!” Ashley screamed, as Jack raised the gun again.

  One bullet after another slammed into Myles and he stumbled slightly, but kept coming until he had Jack by the throat, twisting and crushing the hand that held the gun.

  The dark skinned giant was transfixed, horror and pain etched across his features as his eyes locked with Jacob’s. “Tayler,” Jacob called, voice low.

  Still growling, Tayler moved over a little to stand with Jacob, looking at the large man, just as Jacob was. Jacob was next to Ashley now, kneeling with a hand at Sherman’s throat.

  “It’s okay, Ash, hold onto me,” Jacob murmured, pressing in next to Sherman, an arm around Ashley’s shoulders.

  She could still hear snarling, growling and barking in the yard. The popping of a gun went off somewhere, only once. Marc had come in behind the bad man, still in wolf form with a vague outline of his other self, perhaps he was changing back.

  The room grew warm and began to glow a funny color. The silver of Sherman’s hair shone like polished steel, almost sparking at the ends. The large man dropped to his knees and covered his ears, moaning.