This simply would not do. What Ruri needed was a nice long run with a kill at the end of it. Apparently, she needed fresh air in her nostrils and hot blood on her tongue almost as much as Cassidy did.
Some air would do her a lot of good, but the anklet was set to go off as soon as she left the building, or so she’d been told. Maybe she could get to the roof. First things first, however. It was time to rattle Malice’s cage a little harder.
A quick glance inside the box let her know that Cassidy still slept soundly. Ruri knew Malice had left the floor, but she hadn’t been paying attention to see if she was in her sculpting studio downstairs. She couldn’t hear any of the sounds she’d come to associate with Malice’s sculpting work—not the partially muffled clangs as she hammered metal into place nor the squeal of a grinder. Usually she could hear something, but not this time. Still, Ruri stuck her head in the second floor. The only sign of Malice was the almost dissipated cloud of pheromones by the door. Malice had apparently brought herself to orgasm there just as Ruri had been doing the same one floor above.
She shook her head. They were obviously on the same page, so why didn’t the Hunter accept her advances? Surely that would have been better than masturbating alone on the cold concrete floor.
Ruri had never been to the first floor, but that was all that was left, aside from the roof. She found Malice in a fenced-in enclosure. There were a few of them down there, but this one had a laptop and some filing cabinets. Malice sat hunched over the laptop, clicking away at the keys. She stopped to stare off into space every now and again. Content to watch her, Ruri stood at the enclosure’s gate. The woman’s muscles rippled under her skin even when all she did was type. She was certainly easy enough on the eyes. Her wolf rippled under her skin in agreement and urged her closer, close enough to smell her skin and feel her warmth. Ruri resisted the urge to bathe in Malice’s presence.
“Do you want something, or are you going to hang around all day?” Malice never looked at her.
Ruri was struck all over again by how well developed Malice’s senses were. She hadn’t been trying to sneak up, but she knew she moved quietly. In fact, she had to work to be heard; her default mode was silent.
“I’m going to head up to the roof,” Ruri said. “I need some air.”
“I don’t recall agreeing to that.” Malice still didn’t look up from her computer screen.
“I don’t recall asking.” Ruri knew it was juvenile to imitate Malice’s tone, but she couldn’t help herself. Something about the woman made her push back. Ruri would not—could not—look weak in front of her.
“You’re supposed to be taking care of Cassidy. We have a deal, remember?”
“Is that what you call it? A deal?” Ruri’s voice rose with her incredulity at Malice’s characterization of their situation. Her wolf paced within her, no longer content to bask in the human’s presence. Reminded of their captivity, she wanted out. Ruri shoved her down. “You ambushed me, drugged me and dragged me here where you threaten me physically to keep me from leaving, and that’s a deal?”
The look Malice snuck over her shoulder was guilty, but only for a moment. Irritation replaced it so quickly that if Ruri hadn’t smelled her shame, she wouldn’t have believed it was there.
“I need to get this work done to keep Uncle Ralph off my back and you need to watch Cassidy.”
“You watch Cassidy. Drag the blasted laptop up with you and get your work done. She’s in that stinking box where you’ve left her for days. If she wakes up, maybe you should try talking to her. Explain why her own sister is caging her.”
“It’s for her own good.”
“So tell her that. Have you even tried explaining the situation to her?”
“I tried back when she first woke up. It didn’t seem to matter.”
“She’s calmer now and might actually be able to process what you’re talking about. I’ll be down in a while. You need me to get this air as much as I need me to.” It was true, talking to Malice had ramped her agitation through the roof all over again. She needed to present a calm front to Cassidy, not anything resembling aggression for the wolves within to see as a threat to attack.
“But—”
Ruri looked her in the eye and let some of the wolf out. Her eyes would have bled golden, and she could hear Malice’s intake of breath at the change. The muscles in her jaw ached as they hovered on the edge of shifting, though it wasn’t exactly unpleasant. She clenched her teeth, dancing right on the edge of starting the change.
When she left the room, Malice said nothing. Ruri made her way past the other enclosures without really wondering what was in them. There would be time enough to look around later. For now she had to get up where the air moved, where new scents could clean out the rank stench of anger, fear and despair that infected her nostrils. She would be all right up on the roof. If there had been a chance that the device would go off, Malice wouldn’t have made her objection about permission.
Ruri broke into a jog up the stairs. She couldn’t wait to get out from under Malice’s roof.
Chapter Twenty-One
The moon was fuller than Mary Alice would have liked. It had waxed over halfway and she silently cursed it. Not only was each slice counting down to Cassidy’s painful death, but it was lighter in the park than she would have preferred. Aside from that, Ruri’s choice had been a good one. Pulaski Woods was vast and would be deserted at this time of night.
Her truck idled in front of the turnoff from the main path, with Ruri and Cassidy ensconced in the cab. Ruri had said that the chain across the service road should be easy to shift off the concrete post to which it was attached. Mary Alice eyed it doubtfully; it seemed pretty secure, though one side seemed like it might have some give.
She gave the chain an experimental tug, trying to move it out of the metal clip holding it in place. There was a gap at the top where the links might fit through it, if she could get the right combination of angle and force applied.
For a few minutes she struggled, working the chain higher millimeter by millimeter.
“Here.” Ruri grasped the chain on either side of her hands. With a swift jerk and a tortured squeal, the stuck link popped free.
“I could have gotten that.” Mary Alice covered up the surge of adrenaline that had coursed through her body at the unexpected contact.
“Clearly.” Ruri’s eyes caught the moonlight and flashed golden at her.
Mary Alice could tell she was being laughed at. She had a brief mental flash of a wolf, lips stretched in silent laughter, tongue lolling out of its mouth. “You’re supposed to be watching Cassidy.”
“Relax, she’s still there. The bit of wolfsbane I gave her is taking the edge off. She’ll be ready to go soon enough, though. Maybe we should get a move on.” Her words might have been breezy, but tension lurked in her voice. She turned sharply on her heel and marched back to the truck, not waiting for an answer.
Mary Alice followed in her wake, fuming as she always seemed to after talking to Ruri lately. How does she keep getting the last word on me? Every time she thought she’d sewed up the conversation, Ruri would get in one final dig. And she was always watching, weighing her. It was enough to drive someone crazy.
“What?” Mary Alice asked. She could have sworn Ruri had watched her all the way to the truck. The lycan must have eyes in the back of her head to pull that one off. She was tired of being observed.
“We’ll need to drive on a fair way. I’ll tell you when to turn. How well can you see in the dark?”
“Well enough.”
“Good, you’ll want to keep the headlights off, at least until we’re under the trees. There probably won’t be any cops on patrol, but we don’t want some helicopter crew on a flyby to find us out.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The bite in her tone was intentional. Once again, it failed to elicit the response she hoped for. The laughing wolf filled her mind again. Mary Alice put the truck in gear and peeled away with more force than ne
cessary.
They sped past open grassy lawns, but she was forced to slow down when they reached the trees. The paved road meandered back and forth along the bottom of a bluff as the trees got thicker and thicker around them. Finally, she had to turn on the running lights to make out the road’s twists and turns.
“So soon?” Ruri murmured from next to her.
She could have done without having Ruri crammed right up against her. The lycan’s constant touch and the warmth of her presence were distracting in the extreme. Almost as addling was her smell. The earthiness and hint of spice she’d come to associate with Ruri filled her nose. She’d lobbied to have Cassidy between them on the truck’s bench seat, but Ruri had pointed out that an out-of-control almost-lycan at her elbow might not be the best thing for her driving. If Cassidy lost it on the drive, Ruri would have the best chance of getting her under control. Not that Cassidy seemed like much of a threat. The most movement she’d made so far had been to pluck at her sweatpants as if unsure what they were for. She seemed extremely out of it, and Mary Alice wondered exactly what Ruri thought she would accomplish tonight.
“If you want me to drive into a tree, you’ll keep up the comments,” Mary Alice muttered back.
Ruri said nothing in return; her undivided attention seemed to be on their surroundings. The longer they went without her promised turnoff, the more nervous Mary Alice became. She kept glancing at every gap in the bushes that crowded the road, bare branches reaching toward them in the dim illumination of the running lights. There was nothing every time. She forced herself to relax with little success. Minutes ticked slowly by and the road kept winding in front of them. Cassidy had started moving more purposefully, and she worried about what might happen if the herb wore off before they got out of the truck.
“Here.” Ruri sat up and pointed to a small gap in the trees that was coming up much too fast.
The turnoff was overgrown and she had to hit the brakes harder than she would have liked. She still had to throw the truck in reverse to get far enough back to make the turn. Cassidy shifted next to Ruri and reached for the door.
“It’s okay, honey,” Ruri said, rubbing Cassidy’s thigh in small circles.
Mary Alice hoped it was soothing, though it didn’t seem to be. Cassidy’s eyes glowed emerald green in the darkness of the cab. It couldn’t be much longer now.
The road sloped upward, taking them up a switchback so densely forested that branches scratched along either side of the truck. The first sounds of scratching made Mary Alice jump, and she glanced over at her sister, worried she was about to claw her way out. It sounded too much like nails on metal for her own peace of mind. Satisfied that it was only the surrounding trees, Mary Alice coaxed as much speed out of the truck as she comfortably could. The running lights were no longer up to the job, and she switched on the headlights. Branches, to which a few leaves still desperately clung, cast crazy shadows upon the gravel and grass in front of them, creating a constant sense of movement and chaos.
“Stop here,” Ruri finally said.
She was so tense that she started a bit when the lycan spoke. It was not a moment too soon as far as she was concerned. Cassidy’s nails had lengthened, and it was hard to tell in the dark, but there seemed to be fur on the back of her hands.
“It’s about time.” She set the parking brake and looked over at Ruri, who stared back at her.
“Get out and get our door open.” The rending of cloth accompanied Ruri’s hissed orders. Cassidy was tearing the pants off her legs with one hand, and Ruri had her hand clamped around the other arm.
There was no time to argue about her tone. Mary Alice threw herself out the door and dashed around the front of the truck. When she opened the far door, Cassidy tumbled out and caught herself on all fours. She raised her head to drink in the air. Ruri piled out behind her and Cassidy looked back. The ruined pants were little more than a belt around her waist. She seemed to have torn the sweatshirt clean off.
With a peculiar sideways crabwalk, Cassidy shuffled to the edge of the road. She shook like a tree in a high wind.
Movement from next to the truck caught Mary Alice’s eye. Ruri was stripping down without wasting any time or effort. Muscles shifted under her skin. She couldn’t help but watch, repelled but strangely attracted at the same time. Ruri was a perfect physical specimen. She’d put on some weight during her time with them. Just the right amount of muscle rippled along her torso, topped by pert breasts that weren’t too large. Mary Alice thought they might fit her hands perfectly.
A strangled gurgle pulled her focus from the lycan and back to her sister. Cassidy was turning in small circles, still on all fours. There was more fur on her body than Mary Alice remembered seeing up to now. Her bones cracked loud enough that she could hear the dry snaps from where she stood.
She felt fur under her palm and looked down to see a large golden wolf next to her. It nuzzled her hand, drawing the palm along the side of its face. It bent its head to do so; its back was as high as her waist. Ruri sniffed at her hand and gave a small whuff of recognition before moving on to where Cassidy still struggled.
Her sister seemed to be stuck in some transitional stage. Her face had elongated and the emerald eyes no longer looked so alien. Sharp teeth protruded over lips that still seemed to be thinning and stretching. Ruri nosed her along, urging her toward the trees. Reluctantly, Cassidy allowed herself to be propelled forward.
“You need to be back in…” The lycans had already disappeared into the woods. “Four hours,” Mary Alice concluded quietly. Ruri already knew that. She hoped Ruri’s wolf could tell time. She had decided to disable the proximity sensor for this trip, but the timer was still on and running. If they weren’t back home by 2 a.m., Ruri was going to lose her paw.
For the first time, Mary Alice wished she could shift and follow along on the hunt. Cassidy had left her behind; there was no way she could protect her where she’d gone. All she could do was hope Ruri would care for her sister.
The coolness of the woods closed around Ruri, welcoming her home in its shadowed embrace. Ahead, Cassidy stumbled, not quite comfortable on all fours. Her legs bent awkwardly, not quite shifted, but no longer fully human. Ruri nipped at her heels, urging her onward. They needed to get away from the road. As overgrown and out of the way as it was, the road still represented danger. When they got into the thickest part of the trees, they would finally be safe.
Cassidy turned and snapped at her, teeth meeting sharply in front of Ruri’s nose. The display was impressive, but Ruri was having none of it. She slid to one side and reached in to nip Cassidy’s shoulder. The other wolven whined and tried to catch her, but Ruri was too fast and Cassidy’s teeth caught nothing.
The muzzle that protruded from Cassidy’s face should have looked wrong, but it didn’t. She was somewhere between her human and wolven forms. All she needed was a bit of a nudge and she would complete the change. Her body would finally be able to devote some energy to healing and not to the struggle that still waged within her. Eyes that had glowed emerald in the truck were now angry crimson.
She leaned her shoulder into Cassidy, forcing her onward, one stumbling step at a time. They needed a clearing in the deepest part of the woods and there was one further along. Time was running out. How many more chances would she have to coax Cassidy’s transformation to fruition? Would she be able to get tonight’s work done in time?
A whine rose in her throat and Ruri let it out. Her wolf didn’t like to think in designated chunks of time; that was a human conceit. She thought in terms of sun and moon rise and in the speed of the wind as it swept past her, wafting along the smells of the woods with it.
The light breeze ruffled her coat like gentle fingers tugging at her fur. How would it feel if Malice touched me like that? The thought was as unexpected as it was unwelcome. Ruri was doing her best to get in Malice’s head. There was no room for the Hunter in hers. There was some attraction there, but it had more to do with a lack of viab
le options, not true chemistry, no matter what her wolf thought. Besides, she had bigger problems.
Cassidy had slowed down again. When Ruri leaned into her this time, she simply leaned back. The woman was smaller than she was. It should have been the work of less than a moment to get her moving once more, but she was stronger than she looked. Ruri huffed as she dug nails into the loamy ground to get Cassidy moving, to no avail. She wasn’t going to wear herself out, not so soon into their allotted time, but Cassidy had to get going. Try as she might, there was nothing for it. Cassidy would go no further.
There was more than one way to skin a cat. Cassidy had all her weight on her, and Ruri pushed off in the opposite direction, letting the struggling wolven fall over behind her. With a quick glance to see if Cassidy followed, Ruri took off. She flowed over downed logs and between trees, dead leaves swirling in her wake, always with half an eye behind her. As she’d hoped, Cassidy had been unable to resist the chase and she trailed behind Ruri. She wasn’t as slow as Ruri had expected; she barely had to hold back at all. Bit by bit, Ruri increased her speed until she ran all out. She bounded and stretched over the forest floor, spinning to avoid thicker patches of undergrowth, her lips stretched in a wide wolven grin. This was what she’d been missing, the chance to go where she pleased. The wolf gloried with her, overjoyed to be back in her own skin with room to run.
A tug at her tail overbalanced her, and she only had a moment to glance back and catch Cassidy right behind her before she tumbled off into the underbrush with a startled yelp. The trees had thinned out. Apparently they’d found her clearing.
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