by Amy Richie
“That is why I’m going to tell you.” Her voice had gone strangely flat. My heart was thudding loudly in the silence. “We have to be ready. When he comes for us, we’ll kill him.” Ivy’s hand found mine under the blankets. “Mikhaul,” Bella said through clenched teeth.
For an unguarded moment I saw all her beautiful rage. It transformed her face. Her lip pulled back tightly from her teeth and in the darkness I thought her eyes burned red.
“Because of who?” Rodney asked loudly, bringing me out of my memory.
“Because of,” I dropped my voice to an even lower whisper, “Mikhaul.” Gage stiffened beside me. I didn’t want to talk about him either, but maybe I had to.
“Who’s Mikhaul?” Jed asked way too loudly.
I cringed low to the ground, automatically looking around. “Shh!”
“Why? Is he here?” A loud growl sounded when two of the boys morphed. Gage stepped automatically in front of me.
“No, he’s not here.” I straightened up. “Of course he’s not here.” The blood drained from my face at the very thought.
“Then what does this Mikhaul guy have to do with anything? Who is he?” Rueben asked.
“Don’t say his name,” I said. Rueben crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for an explanation. “No matter where he is in the world, he can hear when you say his name.”
“Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?’ Steven asked.
“That may sound stupid,” I agreed, “but he’s looking for me.” Even Gage turned to me in surprise.
“Why would you think that?” he asked.
“Because he hates me and he’s going to eat my heart.”
As soon as the words were out I realized they sounded like a little kid’s nightmare but I couldn’t take them back. Everyone stared at me in stunned silence for the length of two heartbeats but then they moved to put me in the middle of their circle.
Jed’s face was a hard mask of anger. “Why?” Gage was the only one who didn’t look angry. He stood beside me in the middle of the circle, curious.
“He doesn’t like Noreen.”
“Noreen is dead,” Gage stated matter-of-factly. The boys recoiled from the statement but held their ground.
“Ugh!” I rubbed my hands vigorously down my face. My eyes felt gritty, as if I hadn’t slept in a few days. “I’ll have to start at the beginning,” I concluded.
“Good idea.” One by one the others sat on the ground until I was the only one standing.
Muttering incoherently under my breath, I settled myself on the ground. I wished I could morph. It would be so much easier to not be terrified if I was wolf. I sighed and looked at Gage. His encouraging smile was only half way there, but at least he tried.
My mind chased itself from past to present. All my life I had been taught to fear the name of Mikhaul. In reality, I had never seen him. Never even been within a hundred miles of the infamous traitor.
My heart still went double time when I thought of him though. There had been several scares when I was a child. Bella had thought she saw him and she would immediately pull us out of school and we would move.
Ivy and I had childishly vowed to each other that one day we would kill him. We figured that he would never expect two kids to try to kill him so it would be easy for us. We had even climbed to the top of our apartment building and screamed his name for over an hour.
Now all I felt was fear.
It was silly though. He hadn’t come that day we screamed his name so maybe Bella had been wrong. Either he didn’t care about Ivy and me or his hearing wasn’t that good.
He was nowhere in our area, I was fine.
Chapter Thirteen
The Story of Mikhaul
I took a deep breath. “Mikhaul was … is … the strongest and biggest wolf there ever was,” I began. Everyone leaned in a little closer. “He was part of Noreen’s first pack.” I heard a gasp but I didn’t stop to see who it came from.
“When Andros took the ancient city, Noreen made a vow to not rest until it was recaptured. There were others who made the vow with her, but only Noreen took action.
She began gathering the strongest pack anyone had ever seen. Each brother was chosen by her. Mikhaul was young at the time the city fell and Noreen took him under her wing, raising him to be powerful.
He became fiercely loyal to her, would have lain down his life for Noreen had she asked him to. Her mission became his and when she made him her alpha, his loyalty deepened. She was confident that their bond would never be severed.”
“It was though, wasn’t it?” Tyson asked eagerly when I paused to take a breath.
I nodded solemnly. “Noreen had been called away to Canada and she told Mikhaul to search out vampires and kill them. Not only would it improve their fighting skills, but also it would catch the attention of Andros, and Noreen wanted him to be afraid.
By this time Mikhaul was a magnificent wolf. He was loyal to his female, he was strong, and he lived for battle. He was a warrior. He wasn’t much for human emotions, but Noreen had made him like that.
Mikhaul and the pack chased two vampires to a small hamlet in southern Europe. This is where Mikhaul met Abigail Lewis.” I heard Gage suck in a breath beside me. No doubt he had heard this story before and knew what was coming.
“Abigail’s father was extremely poor. They lived in a small cottage on the hillside and looked after a small flock of sheep. Abigail was often out on the moor by herself while her father did the chores around their home.
Mikhaul saw her one day with her sheep and was taken by her humanity.”
“Not by her beauty?” Steven didn’t sound disappointed by this fact.
“I don’t know if she was beautiful. I only know that her smile was able to turn a warrior into mush. Mikhaul watched her from a distance every day. She was kind to the sheep and seemed content.
One day, a wolf, an ordinary kind of wolf, came upon Abigail’s flock. Instead of running away, the young woman attempted to fight the wolf off. Mikhaul, in wolf form, came from his hiding place and killed the wolf. She wasn’t afraid of him, though, she threw herself around him and he turned into a man.”
“Bet she wasn’t expecting that,” Jed grinned.
“The two were very much in love by the time Noreen returned,” I continued as if he hadn’t interrupted me. “No matter what she told Mikhaul, he refused to leave Abigail’s side. Noreen knew that she didn’t stand a chance against Andros without Mikhaul so she sent vampires after the girl.”
“That’s not true,” Gage interrupted this time.
“What’s not true?”
“She didn’t send the vampires after Abigail. You are embellishing the story.”
“No, I’m not.” Why was Gage interrupting the story? “Bella told me she did.”
“And you believe everything Bella told you?”
“Anyways,” I continued with a glare towards Gage, “it didn’t matter. Abigail was already pregnant.”
“Pregnant?” Rueben was surprised.
“Yes, by Mikhaul.”
“That’s impossible. She must have cheated on him.”
Gage’s lip snarled back. I wondered if maybe he had known Abigail Lewis. “The baby was Mikhaul’s,” I said firmly. “They named him Maddox.” Gage became very still beside me, reminding me that Maddox was yet another subject we didn’t talk about. “Mikhaul never left their side, keeping the boy and his mother safe. When Maddox was four he morphed into a wolf and killed his mother.”
“Wow,” Rodney exclaimed quietly.
“What happened? Did Mikhaul kill Maddox?” Rueben wanted to know.
“Why would he kill his own son?” Gage growled. “Do you know nothing about loyalty?” My mind couldn’t move fast enough to register Gage changing to his wolf form. Rueben stood up, but Gage only growled once and then bolted away.
“Weird,” Jed whispered.
“Gage is old. Maybe he knew Abigail and Maddox,” Steven echoed my earlier thoughts.
“What did happen to Maddox? Is he still alive?” Rueben asked.
I shook my head slowly. “Mikhaul took his son to hide in the woods. He knew that Andros would destroy the half-breed. He didn’t know, however, that Noreen had not given up her plan.
Noreen thought that if she could get Maddox out of the way Mikhaul would rejoin her. So she sent her pack to kill Maddox.” Their faces were all somber as they listened to the tale Bella had told me when I was little. “They did kill Maddox that day but Mikhaul killed every one of his brothers.” Not even the forest dared to make a sound.
“For years after, Mikhaul disappeared. Most of the wolves assumed that he had been injured in the massacre and crawled off to die. But then one by one the packs that Noreen had created were all killed.”
“Mikhaul.” It was just a whisper, but it sent shivers down my spine.
“Yeah, he killed them all. And when he was finished he killed Noreen.”
Colby growled furiously. “He killed Noreen?”
“Where is he now?”
“Why does he hate you?”
They all talked at once. “I don’t know where he is. And he hates everything that Noreen created.”
“You were created by Bella,” Jed reminded me.
“I know that Jed, but Ivy and I were created to lead one of Noreen’s packs.”
I heard a gasp behind me and turned to see that Gage had returned.
“Mikhaul isn’t going to hurt you,” Gage tried to comfort me. After the boys had left Gage and I curled up together on the long couch. He lay down behind me and wrapped his arm across my stomach. I pressed myself as close as I could to his hard chest.
“How can you say that? He will come after us. Not just me, but the pack too.”
“Noreen didn’t have time to train them fully. I don’t think Andros sees them as a threat.”
“What makes you think Mikhaul cares what kind of threat we are? He’s not working with Andros.” He didn’t say anything to that. “When I was little I was always afraid of Mikhaul. I didn’t even want to lead a pack,” I groaned, “but I knew - just as I know now - that it doesn’t matter to him. He’s still going to come after me and no one can stop him.”
“I think you’re worried for nothing.” He pushed my hair away from the side of my face, trying to kiss away my worry.
I felt like I was five years old. I actually didn’t remember being five, but Gage was treating me like I was a child. I shrugged my shoulders, trying to push his face away. “You don’t know him.”
“Neither do you,” he pointed out calmly.
“I may not be BFFs with him, but I know him.”
“Have you ever seen him?”
I twisted my face up. “No, I wouldn’t even be here if I had.”
He chuckled deeply, the sound vibrating in my ear. Little shivers traveled up and down my spine. “Are you cold?” His voice was suddenly husky.
“No.” I turned my head so I could see him, which put our faces only inches apart. “Are you?” I whispered.
He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. My heartbeats seemed to echo all around us,
“I don’t know.”
Without moving at all his lips were on mine, taking all the air from my lungs. Light exploded behind my eyes. Our lips moved together perfectly, dancing to the rhythm of my rapid heart.
He pulled away with a slow smile. His fingertips traced lightly along my cheekbones. His eyes were lit up and the way he stared at me made my cheeks flush. “Why are you blushing?”
“You’re looking at me like I’m your favorite birthday gift.”
“I haven’t celebrated a birthday in a long time,” he murmured, “but you are … amazing.”
My lips were shaking but I managed to smile. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
He leaned down to softly kiss my lips. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Too abruptly, he hopped off the couch and disappeared through the door.
I groaned and flung myself back on the couch. He could have stayed, I wouldn’t have minded.
“I was thinking about last night,” I announced at breakfast the next morning. Gage had been frying eggs when I got out of the shower. Even if he had heard the door open, he discreetly kept his back turned while I sidestepped to my room.
I quickly pulled on some jeans and a pink t-shirt that read ‘Bite Me’. He had two full plates of eggs, toast, and bacon on the table when I joined him.
“Which part?” He grinned.
I grinned back but quickly shook myself. “That he might come here.”
His fork hesitated but he smiled. “He, meaning Mikhaul.”
“Shh.” There was no need to press our luck; his name had certainly been used enough last night.
He sighed. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
“Yes, him.”
“And?”
“If he comes here, I think we should be ready.”
He shoved a huge bite of eggs in his mouth. “How?” he mumbled.
“You can teach me to fight.”
I expected that I would have to argue with him and I expected him to say no at first; but I didn’t expect his anger. His eyes narrowed to dark slits. “No.”
“Why not?” My instincts told me to back down, but my anger started to rise, too. “I need to be able to protect myself.”
“I’ll protect you.”
“You won’t always be here, Gage.”
“I’m not teaching you to fight.”
“But you are the only one who can. Why wouldn’t you want me to be able to protect myself?”
“Don’t ask me something like that, Willow. I just don’t want you to fight.”
“I’m a wolf,” I pointed out needlessly.
“A female.”
“Who has a pack to lead.”
“They will protect you.”
“Gage.”
He jumped out of his chair, breathing heavily, and dumped what was left of his breakfast in the trash. He did the same to my plate, even though I hadn’t eaten much of it. “I don’t want to talk about this,” he fumed.
“I don’t understand what the big deal is.” I bit back my anger. Gage was already mad enough for both of us. His back was to me and he was vigorously washing his plate.
Gently, I wrapped my arms around his waist. He tensed and I thought he was going to tell me to go away but then he shuddered. He turned around and returned my embrace. “Willow, I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you,” he said into my hair.
“If you teach me to fight as well as you can, nothing will.” I pressed my face into his shoulder, not allowing him to get angry.
“No.”
It was such a final word, no room for any arguments. I bit the inside of my lip until I tasted blood. Gage was so hard to understand. “You’re being unreasonable,” I finally said.
“You are not a warrior.” He kept a hold of me.
“Which is why I need you to teach me.”
He shook his head and I felt it moving on top of mine. “I won’t.”
I pinched my lips together until they were a tight line. “Fine, when Mikhaul comes it’ll be that much easier for him to kill me.”
“He’s not … ”
“Or Andros.”
“Why would Andros kill you? He wanted you to come here.”
“Never trust a vampire. The point is, he knows I’m here and he’s watching me.” I pulled myself away from Gage and glared up into his unsmiling face.
“I can’t.”
“You won’t.”
Forgetting that I had agreed to let Rueben drive me to school, the honk that sounded in front of the cabin broke the silence and startled me. With a final glare at Gage I stalked out the front door where Rueben, Colby, and Tyson were waiting to drive me to school.
Chapter Fourteen
The Trouble with Boys
“What are you mad about?” Rueben asked when I slammed the car door.
“Gage.”
“What did he do?” His actions paused while he waited for my response.
“He won’t teach me to fight.”
After he decided that he didn’t need to fight Gage, he put the car in reverse and peeled out of the driveway. “Why do you need to fight?”
“So we’ll be ready when Mikhaul comes.” I was surprised at how easily his name rolled off my lips.
“Do you think he’ll come here?” Tyson asked eagerly from the back seat.
“This is not something to be excited about. And yes, I do.” My jaw snapped closed.
“There’s six of us,” Rueben looked at me sideways, “we can take him.”
My jaw dropped open. Hadn’t they heard anything I told them last night? They couldn’t “take” Mikhaul anywhere. If they were lucky he’d kill them all quickly with no pain involved. “We’re not ready,” was all I said out loud.
“We’ve been in fights before,” Colby informed me.
“With wolves?” I felt the color drain from my face.
Rueben shrugged. “It was a territory thing,” he said nonchalantly.
“Your territory?” He grinned at my quick understanding. These boys had never had territory of their own.
“We didn’t know they were there,” Tyson said.
“Who won?” My voice was small.
Rueben appeared offended. “We did.”
“And you left anyways?”
Colby scoffed loudly. “Why would we want to stay? We just don’t like being told what to do.”
I sat back hard against the seat and watched the scenery blur by my window. My mind was too occupied to take in much more than the greens and browns of the forest as it slowly gave way to small clusters of houses and finally the town.
To defeat a mature pack was quite a feat. Blake had told me that Noreen handpicked these boys. No wonder Andros and the council were interested. A slow fear made its way into my arms and legs. Why had they decided to keep them alive? What did they have in mind for our pack?
“You ok?” Rueben asked as he held my car door for me. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
“I was just thinking.”