by Lynn Veevers
He glanced toward the family room that was erupting with laughter. It was innocent, pure, human-sounding laughter. The children must have felt comfortable enough to return to their Human Form. The look of adoration on Dahlia’s face was absolute, and it pulled at something inside Kaya. She put a hand on Dahlia’s shoulder and said, “One way or another, this situation will be resolved and you, your mate, and your cubs will be able to return home safely.”
“That’s just it, there is no home to return to,” Dahlia said with burning rage, “Senka had our house burnt to the ground in the early hours of the morning. We barely got ourselves and the children out with our lives. She has had her minions tracking us ever since. The children are innocent!”
She walked back toward the family room where her cubs sat watching a movie and eating popcorn. The three girls favored their father immensely and were identical in appearance. To look at their mother, one would never know they belonged to her. The one little boy, Christian, however, was the spitting image of Dahlia. His raven-black hair hung in a ponytail to his mid-back. He had a light, golden-brown, flawless complexion and the deepest shade of brown lit his ornery eyes.
Owen had followed the ladies to the door of the family room at some point, silent in his approach, so when he spoke, he had Kaya jumping in surprise and screaming like a little girl. Everyone took a moment to just enjoy a heartfelt belly laugh in spite of the dark mood that hung in the air.
Dahlia sobered first. “We had better get moving before Senka’s henchmen track us here. Last Noah told me, they were still on our trail, approximately a half day’s hike behind us. We just stopped to rest. The children were exhausted and I’m sorry to say we did take one of your cattle as prey, but I had to feed my babies.”
Owen didn’t look the least bit upset about that. “We can hardly let you just leave the safety of the house knowing you’re being hunted, especially with these four adorable little ones in tow. Why hasn’t your extended pack lent you their protection?”
Now Dahlia did look truly upset, heartbroken even.
“Over the years, as Senka has grown in power and influence, she has slowly but surely picked off all of our extended pack members. She started with her siblings and then moved on to their respective families, absorbing their cores to become so formidable. Only Noah’s family and his Aunt Renee's remain.”
“You and your pack are welcome to be our guests. We have plenty of room for you until this is resolved and things are safe for your cubs,” Owen said, looking adoringly at the four of them sprawled on the floor. The man absolutely loved kids.
All of a sudden, his features became fierce and hard as stone. “Since we know they are coming, we are going to be ready. We need to plan and make preparations to keep the children safe. We have a series of corridors and rooms underneath the house, made of natural stone. There is a trapdoor leading to the tunnels under the big blue couch in the family room. They were here before this house was built. If what Noah told you about how far off they are is accurate, then they will be here this evening. Noah, how many are there? Do you know?”
Noah stepped forward.
“Yes, I picked up at least six distinctive scents. I have to thank you, Owen. We were hopelessly outnumbered. Of course the children cannot fight. The hunters would make quick work of them, which is why we have been doing our best to evade them. So if I may ask, what specific skill sets do you and your brood possess?”
Owen’s bearish grin materialized. “My oldest, Cole, has exceptional hearing, capable of hearing most things from miles away. My only daughter, Samantha, got one of the rarest traits to be had; concealment. She can mask her and other’s scents, making them virtually untraceable by way of smell. She can also conceal herself through means of camouflage. When in Pure Form, her fur acts much like the skin of a chameleon. Finally, my youngest, Kenneth, is fast, and when I say fast, it is a gross understatement. He can easily keep up with a car cruising down the road at sixty mph. Don’t get me started on when he actually has a mind to sprint.”
Owen looked pleased with himself. This was something new Kaya had learned today about Lycan culture.
Noah whistled low and long to himself, obviously impressed.
“Well, what about you, Owen? What is your specific trait?” Dahlia asked.
“Like you, my dear, I possess superior strength. I fully understand your drive to protect your cubs and your mate.”
Dahlia returned Owen’s smile and went over to stand with Noah.
“Yes, this man is my heart, along with our little ones. I don’t know what I would do if I failed in protecting them. I would have no reason to go on living without them. Noah and I have been together since our freshman year in high school.”
Noah squeezed his wife’s hand lovingly. “For me, it has always been Dahlia, from the first time I saw her in the second grade.”
“So are there anymore little ones in your future?” Owen wanted to know.
Dahlia blushed crimson from head to toe. “Absolutely, yes. There are many more little ones in our future,” Dahlia confessed.
“Well, I hate to be the one to bring it back to the business at hand, but we need to start planning out our offensive strategy,” Samantha said seriously.
The announcement killed the good mood and brought them back to their grim reality.
“I completely agree.” Dahlia supported Samantha’s statement, clearly trying to make headway toward getting past their initial aggression and conflicting natures. Samantha just gave her a chillingly cold and malicious look.
Dahlia sighed in resignation and turned her attention to Owen. “So do you have an idea of how we are going to do this?”
Owen appeared thoughtful for a long moment, and then he approached Dahlia and spoke in a low voice. “We’re going to bait and ambush them. Noah, what direction are they coming from?”
Noah answered eagerly. “Last I checked, they will be coming from the same direction we did, from the northwest. But there is no harm in being sure, so if you will excuse me, I am going to step out briefly to filter for their scents.”
Heading toward the patio to check he had a smile for his wife with Dahlia’s gaze following him. Noah walked back into the room minutes later and stood beside Dahlia, who gazed up at him tenderly. He took a moment to look down at her and return the gesture, then he turned his attention to Owen.
“It is weird. There were only five distinctive scents this time whereas before it had been six. To add to the weirdness, all but one of the scents is different, like the old group was replaced with a new group. If the first hunting party is still around, they are out of the range of my nose. By the potency of what I was picking up, they are less than five hours out and coming from the same direction...fast.”
Owen’s expression suggested just how impressed he was with Noah’s accuracy. “Then we’d better get down to the specifics of our plans. As I said before, bait and ambush would probably be the best approach to this situation.”
“So who is going to pose as bait?” Kaya wanted to know.
“The way I see it, Kenneth would be the best candidate for that position, seeing how he is incredibly fast and will be able to get out of harm’s way with no problems.”
Kenneth agreed with his father’s suggestion and was more than willing to play the part. Kaya, on the other hand, wasn’t entirely comfortable with him purposely going into harm’s way, but she was confident in his ability to bolt at the drop of a dime. Knowing that, she decided to keep her worries to herself; tensions were already high enough without adding to them.
Noah spoke up again, weighing in with his point of view. “I think it’s a good start, but you have to keep in mind it isn’t Kenneth’s scent they are tracking, so either Dahlia or I will have to accompany him.” Everyone agreed with his point.
Dahlia perked up and volunteered, “I feel that I would be the best because in a pinch, there’s a good chance I’ll be able to overpower an attacker.”
Owen smiled his bearis
h grin once again. “If I were to join the two of you, it would definitely give us the advantage for a rapid take down.”
Noah clearly had a problem with this. “No, I think it should be me because I’m like an early warning system. I will be able to pinpoint their position fairly accurately because as they close in, the scent grows stronger.”
Cole, who had retained his silence through most of this, finally spoke his mind. “I could serve the exact same purpose because I can hear them miles away.”
Kaya watched the transactions of who should do what and be where and with whom. Her patience was waning increasingly fast. They sounded like kindergartners fighting over the red crayon when there were three other colors to be had.
Feeling completely fed up with the bickering Kaya weighed in by saying, “OK everyone, we are getting nowhere by arguing position in this scheme. It seems clear to me who should be where and what role they should play. Cole and Noah should be early warning because of their heightened senses of detection. Once the attackers get close, they should run back to where Kenneth, Dahlia, and Owen are holding our defensive position. It makes the most sense to rendezvous because, honestly, our strength is in numbers. As for me, I can take a fast flying form and scout ahead to see exactly what the movements of our attackers are. Having eyes in the sky can only help in further detecting and pinpointing their location, therefore removing even the slightest chance for them to have the element of surprise.”
“What about me? What part do I play?” Samantha asked curiously.
Kaya walked to where Samantha stood. “You have the most important role to play of all of us, Samantha. You will be the one to keep the children safe. Your trait is best suited for it, hands down. I am fairly certain the stone caverns and corridors under the house will neutralize most, if not all sound. Your ability to conceal the cubs will further insure their safety and that is our main priority here.”
Kaya thought Samantha would throw a fit, accuse her of taking her out of the action to sit idle and babysit, but instead, she glanced at the four cubs now napping on the floor and her expression softened significantly. Instead she realized Samantha did have maternal instinct, despite her blunt and hotheaded ways.
“It sounds like a great plan to me, Kaya. Let me go organize food and the other things we are going to need while we camp out down there,” she said with a smile.
She quickly went to work packing what looked like a picnic, a large one. Kaya was quite pleased with herself. Kenneth wrapped an arm around her waist and nuzzled the back of her neck. Pivoting around she faced him and his eyes had just the slightest hint of yellow illuminating them. Kaya knew exactly what was on his mind because of the cometh here look he was giving her.
Wow, even in the midst of a life or death situation…and what was he thinking about? Unbelievable! she thought to herself.
Her internal rant came to an abrupt halt as a question of urgency materialized in her mind.
“What if these Afflicted hunting us have traits that can counter our plan,” She asked him.
Kenneth pulled her closer so they were just a breath away. “They won’t because the unique traits we all possess are something specific to Natural Lycans. The Afflicted have no unique trait other than the one Dad told you about in the beginning, wrought. Natural Lycans are immune so it doesn’t matter anyway.”
He said the last few words with his lips against her’s and went straight into a tonsil hockey match after he had finished speaking. There was nothing she could do but be a worthy opponent.
When he finally released her, his eyes were glowing in full force.
“If I were you, love, I wouldn’t move just yet,” Kaya said. She indicated the space between them. Once again, she forgot everyone had great hearing. Kenneth and she had all their undivided attention. One look around the room had her skin tinting furiously red and she buried her face in Kenneth’s chest. The whole room exploded in laughter and Kenneth’s own laugh resonated through his chest.
Kenneth lifted her face to look at him. “I know you need time to get used to how Lycans do things, but our attraction is nothing for you to be ashamed of or embarrassed about. How we display our affection is erotic in nature. We are mated, they get it, and believe it or not, this is normal. Besides, we are nowhere near as bad as Cole and Blaire were at first.”
Kaya glanced around the room and was met with a crowd of smiling faces. She relaxed and so had his reaction toward her.
In my mind, we are already worse than rabbits! Kaya thought to herself.
Laughing out loud, Kenneth said, “Yes, yes we are indeed!”
Kaya shot Kenneth a look of surprise.
“What?” he asked defensively.
A quick survey of the faces in the room confirmed her suspicions. They all held baffled expressions.
“What are you talking about, Kenneth? That was just the most random statement,” Owen said.
“How was that random, Dad? She said we were worse than rabbits,” Kenneth said, laughing.
No one else laughed and Kenneth was now the one looking confused.
“No, Kenneth, I didn’t,” Kaya said slowly, searching his face.
Reluctantly he took a step back, he was retreating from her and she didn’t like it. Kaya was starting to understand what was going on.
“I didn’t say it, I thought it,” Kaya said in her head.
Like before, Kenneth verbally responded to her thoughts.
“You did?” he said, looking at her confused.
“Yup, and I just did it again.”
He was about to say something again but her thoughts invaded his mind and stopped him.
“No, Kenneth, don’t say anything. Instead, look around you at everyone’s reaction.”
He saw the looks of confusion had turned to looks of worry. Bringing his gaze back to Kaya, it was her turn to feel bewildered. Kenneth’s look had gone from hurt confusion to concerned distress.
“Kays, your eyes! They are glowing blue!” Kenneth said, but his lips didn’t move.
“What?” she said out loud as she rushed to the mirror hanging in the small hall leading to the stairs.
There in the mirror, her eyes were shimmering with an intense cerulean color.
“What’s happening to me?”
Kenneth appeared in the mirror behind her.
“I don’t know, Kays.” As he spoke out loud, the shimmering faded. The others appeared positively horrified and so Kaya explained what had just happened. They all relaxed, but were still clearly concerned. All but Owen, who just appeared thoughtful.
“Well for heaven’s sake, do they all have to look at me like I have a contagious disease?” Kaya said in her head.
Kenneth heard her because she heard his voice echo in her mind. “I know, right, and by the way, your eyes just started shimmering again.”
She swung around and sure enough, they were.
“I think your eyes glow when we communicate on a mental level,” Kenneth said aloud and the shimmering faded again. Owen stepped up to Kaya, put his hands on her shoulders, and stared at her intensively.
“It’s OK, Kaya. Try it with me.”
“What am I, a science experiment?” she said in her head.
Owen did nothing, just stood there waiting.
“It doesn’t work with him,” she said to Kenneth telepathically.
“So I see,” he returned.
“I guess it only works with Kenneth,” she said aloud.
“I am sure it is because you two are mates. I have to admit though, it’s pretty cool,” Cole said.
Kenneth grabbed Kaya’s hand and she heard his thoughts penetrate her mind. “This is going to come in handy in more ways than I can count,” he said with a smirk on his face.
“They’re doing it again!” Cole said, clearly perturbed.
Kaya laughingly told Kenneth in her thoughts to behave.
It didn’t take long for the time to move into position to arrive. Samantha led the cubs down to their hidi
ng spot. Kaya went out and started scouting in the direction Noah and Cole agreed the attackers were approaching from, and the rest of the hunting party took up their locations and settled in to wait for the action to start.
Kaya was on her fourth circuit of patrolling the western boarder when she spotted three of the five targets. They were a short distance from where she and the others had found Dahlia, Noah, and their cubs. Not moving from the spot where they had stopped and it was clear they were busy sniffing around.
Kaya circled and headed back toward her group when she spotted the other two. They were in the shade of the same trees Kaya and her group had stood by this morning. These two were also sniffing around; it made no sense to Kaya as to why. They would already have the scent of the family they tracked.
Suddenly, one of the two in the trees started sniffing the air, and Kaya figured out why. It was because there were new scents, hers included. The one sniffing the air had just gotten a fresh whiff of her.
In a panic she made a beeline for Noah and Cole, but she was too late. Kaya felt herself falling because she’d not been high enough to dodge the wrought.
“Kenneth, help me!” she shouted in her head, and then she heard him loud and clear.
“I’m coming, hold on!”
But there was nothing to hold on to. Kaya was still in hawk form and she tried with all her might to turn her body and spread her wings so she could glide to the ground. She barely managed it, and as she passed the top of the tree line, she realized she was still coming in way too fast.
As Kaya approached the ground, she saw Kenneth closing the gap between them…fast. She remembered what Owen had said about Kenneth being able to clip along at sixty mph with ease. Surely he would reach her before she hit the ground.
But it was not fast enough because right before he reached the edge of the trees, Kaya came crashing to the earth with a solid thud.
11
The Scent of Tragedy
Kaya’s world was spinning and whatever constituted for ears in this form rang with the same intensity as a tornado siren. Off to her left was the sound of the wolf she loved and the Afflicted that had taken her down. The two were in the midst of a deadly confrontation. There was a lancing pain tearing down Kaya’s neck and shoulder, which didn’t surprise her in the least. Her face had been the first thing to hit the grass when she’d crashed.