by E. V. Winter
Kyle said nothing and tried to keep up. “You’re doing fine. He’ll slow down when we hit their park, it’s boggy there. You need to watch your step.”
Juan nodded. “I don’t like his idea about capturing the girl, what do you think?”
“It’s not up to me. It doesn’t matter what I think.”
He walked on ahead. Talking about what they had to do filled him with despair if the Brunholme Ridge omegas did what he asked, and the Quarry Hills pack were overwhelmed, they would need to turn back without Rex. He prayed they did as he asked.
“I smell them.” Blaine said. He had stopped dead in the middle of Hale County’s woods.
Kyle and Juan smelled the air, a growl escaping Juan’s mouth. They could scent the Brunholme Woods pack. Kyle said nothing but he felt a cautious elation. Word spread and they trusted him.
They hung back from the fence. Blaine looked through his infrared binoculars into India’s yard. There was nobody there.
“We will go in over the fence. We split up though. I’ve sent the other two round the front in case she or the sister try to get out that way. I thought about a fire at first. It would be quicker that shooting all the animals and she may run out more quickly if she sees a fire but shooting them is a better method. She’ll know we’re capable of absolute cruelty.”
“By killing two pigs and a few chickens?” Kyle asked.
Blaine stared him down. “What’s wrong with you? We’re moments away from ending the Linney dynasty and owning all the land on the eastside. You own the land, you have dynasty over everything that happens there.”
Kyle shrugged. “Let’s do this.” He rose from his place in the trees and meandered towards the fence, his feet tracing his original steps from a few nights ago. He approached, Blaine and Juan and walked in the steps behind him. Kyle turned and put his finger up to his lips. “I hear something,” he whispered lowering himself onto the ground. The others followed suit. He needed time to think. They all wore a bulletproof vest. If they were walking into an ambush, he still did not want to be at the front.
Blaine took a bottle out of his inner coat pocket. “Move out of my way. I’ve decided to go with fire.” He lit the Molotov cocktail and threw it towards the pig sty. It smashed and caused a blaze. They climbed over the fence and the gunshots started almost immediately, but the fire worked as a distraction. They moved in three different directions towards the animals, firing off rounds as they did so.
Kyle could see gunshots coming from three different locations, none close to the animals. He saw the sister at the bedroom window, her gun perched on the window ledge. She could not see them because of the fire. He saw Juan raise his gun towards her. He shot him in the leg. Juan screamed in pain.
“Juan, Jesus, did I get you? I’m so sorry Man, my gun backfired.”
Juan lay on the ground, blood flowing from his leg. It was so dark that Kyle could not see Blaine, but knew he’d be closer to the house by now. Where was their defense? Had the omegas passed on his warning? He crawled towards Juan and checked the wound. “You’ll be okay, you move back now Juan, over towards that vegetable plot, stay back, stay safe.”
Eve took a shot at him but missed. He rolled behind the chicken pen. He saw Blaine, up on his feet walking towards the fire. He was checking the sty was on fire. Kyle shook his head. Blaine was a sick man.
*******
Eve saw one guy get shot. She wondered who fired, only she had clear access to the yard. The pig sty was on fire and she could hear India freaking out downstairs as another voice coaxed her to stay inside.
India had grandpa’s rifle. Rafe had warned that it was better to get the Quarry Hill pack closer to the house before shooting. It just made more sense. They could criss cross the yard at will, ducking behind outbuildings but once they approached the porch, they were in genuine danger, they became better targets.
Eve’s three friends guarded the front of the house and one hid in the garage, in case that was breached. Rex was in the kitchen, on the floor. He had a dominant view to the back door and the kennel entrance was parallel.
Maddox was the first inside the hallway. If any of them stepped onto the porch, he would shoot them. Xander was close behind Maddox, in case Maddox got hit first.
“India, we’re so close. Just stay calm.” Rex told her. She watched him breathing calmly and adjusting his vision so he was aware of everyone else’s position and relative strength. He was in command of the situation and fearless. She took on his demeanor, though her breathing remained shaky, and she was distressed to see the sty still blazing. Tears filled her eyes despite her intentions to be strong for him “My animals. They mean everything…”
“I know but we need to save ourselves first,” he said. He was firmer with her, and she heard it in his voice. She knew what he said was true, but this place was her entire life.
Maddox took off the safety. He did not know much about Blaine, other than he was an arrogant prick. Only he would have the chutzpah to believe he could walk into a building and kill everyone in it. But Maddox was surprised. There were shots fired from the front of the house. Had they been infiltrated?
“India, you go with your rifle and check out the front. Go to the living room and look out the window, tell me what you see.” Maddox said. She crept out of the kitchen on the floor to the living room, her rifle pushed along in front of her. She realized he’d asked her, not Rex, because he would protect his king. India got to the window to see one of their men dead and one of Eve’s friends injured out front. The front door was still open. Was someone inside? She crawled back towards the front passageway and saw Eve’s other friend still guarding the door.
Rex looked out the door to check India’s safety. He knew if she didn’t come back, there were problems. Crawling along the hall, he saw what she saw. Another man approached behind the front yard wall. He went to India and took her rifle from her, moving closer to Eve’s friend, Phil, at the door. He gestured to him about the interloper. It was quick, Phil moved fast and shot the other pack member, incapacitating him. Phil kicked away his gun. Rex went back to India and led her back to the kitchen, to safety. He lay beside her on the floor, feeling her hear racing next to his body. He understood her reluctance to love him. All of this was his doing.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Blaine was a determine man. He moved closer to the porch entrance but it was as close as he got. Kyle fired on him from behind and Maddox fired from in front. He went down in a burst of gunfire, one from darkness and one from light. Both men watched him fall, each feeling they’d ended this, a gunshot to the head. Maddox walked towards him, still scanning the yard with his rifle.
“Get outta here, you two. No reprisals if you leave now,” he yelled.
Kyle went to Juan and picked him up. Getting over the fence would be impossible.
“You go, leave me here.” Juan said. “I’ll face whatever happens.”
Kyle tried to stem the flow of blood from Juan’s leg. “You lie low here. You’re unarmed so they shouldn’t hurt you.”
“Any of those Brunholme pack come near me, I’ll transform. I’ll take them out the right way…”
“No!” Kyle said into Juan’s face. “Don’t you see? This is all wrong. Blaine got this all wrong. This is not what pack is about. It’s not about drug money and arms dealing. It’s about brotherhood and protecting what’s already yours, not stealing what’s not yours.”
Juan lay down on the grass. He looked Kyle in the eye. “You knew this would happen.”
Kyle left Juan on the grass, near the vegetable patch and climbed the fence. Eve saw him but did not shoot. She watched him skulk into the grass, tearing off his clothes as he did so. He transformed into a wolf and disappeared from sight within seconds.
India was first outside, running towards the pig sty. She released the bolt on the gate and was thankful to see both pigs run outside. She was glad she had separated their accommodation into 2 separate areas and saw that they were safe in the sleep
ing pen where the flames could not reach them. They ran around in the dark, squealed and made a nuisance. She was just glad they were alive.
They all pitched in to put out the fire. Rafe attached the hose to the faucet and got the blaze, mainly of straw bales, under control. It was freezing outside and his short legged, woman sized overalls were not keeping him warm. Eve threw a coat over his shoulders.
Inside the house, India was treating injuries. She was a vet, but understood how to get blood loss under control. Eve’s friends, Phil and Tony were fine but Gideon had sustained a gunshot wound to the foot.
“Feels weird lying on a metal table. Is this what a morgue is like?” He asked. Since it was an animal surgical table, his legs hung off the bottom.
India smiled. “A morgue would have more room for your legs.” She said.
He smiled. “I think I got lucky tonight so this table is alright.”
Her living room was full of people. She’d never had so much company in one place.
Rex was exhausted, and hardly able to sit up straight in the chair, his eyes closed.
India kneeled down beside him. “Come on Rex, time for you to rest up.”
Reluctantly, he let her lead him into the office and lay him on his squeaky bed.
“I’m sorry about all this,” he said. “I understand why you don’t want to get involved with me.”
She said nothing but looked at him, in his tired state, and saw a man capable of complete sacrifice and courage. She knew he was still sick, but he wanted to fight with his pack to free the eastside of a destructive force.
Blaine was dead, his body lay out in the darkness covered with a tarp, smoke still billowed around outside and the smell permeated the air, even inside. “We’ll talk tomorrow, okay. Get some sleep,” she said and closed the office door. She wondered whether she needed to lock it. Might he still transform? What might happen if he did? Then she remembered his promise never to hurt her, and she trusted him. She left the door slightly open, in case he needed help, so she could get to him quickly.
Juan was inside the porch doors. She treated his wound and bandaged him up. He felt sleepy with good meds. He came to her like a lamb, knowing that the blood loss could be fatal if he resisted.
Eve and her friends were sharing a joint on the porch. She was thankful to Phil, Gideon and Tony who did so well protecting the front of the house. Hale County was a pretty town but the houses were spread out from one another. It was rural, and that’s why India lived there. Little did she understand that humans were not the dominant ones in this place. High fences protected her small holding with its animal shelter, but there were no other humans for miles around. Maybe she needed to stop this reclusive existence and embrace life more.
India pulled off her mask, rolled it in a ball and stuffed it in her pocket. It was time to reveal herself and let people see what she looked like.
After tonight, the scar seemed like an insignificant thing to worry about. How many people had risked their lives to save Rex’s? She even put her own life on the line. She was prepared to be hurt to save his life because she felt something for him she could not explain.
He accepted her kindness but wanted to repay her from his heart. He believed kindness was the best part of her, nothing else mattered, not her mask or her scar. She realized it held her back because of her fear of what others might think. She did not want to live in fear.
The living room was quiet when she went back inside. Maddox, Rafe and Xander were asleep. She threw blankets over them and switched off the light. She rejoined Eve and her friends on the porch.
Eve hugged her. “You removed that mask, you’re you again.”
“Time to stop all that.”
“I’m glad you’re back.” Eve said and kissed her scar.
“That was a night to remember for all time.” Eve said. “The place still smells of cordite, smoke and bacon. I think you better check those pigs.”
India gave her a playful slap.
“We’re leaving. Is it okay to leave through the front door? I don’t think I could climb that fence.” Gideon said, smiling. They hugged the girls and went inside to leave the right way.
“Is Rex in love with you?” Eve asked.
India shrugged her shoulders. She wasn’t ready to talk about it yet.
Eve persisted. “Or… are you in love with him?”
“I’m confused. I don’t know if what I feel is real. Is it because I got so close to him when I rescued him and tried to save his life? I know he was a wolf, but he was kind of a gentle wolf. He let me stroke his hide. He let me near him to give him medicine.”
“Was he starting to feel like a pet?”
She shook her head. “No, I was just doing my job but I willed him to survive. I wanted him to live. I wanted to set him free again.”
Eve threw the last of her joint onto the porch and stubbed it out with her foot.
“But you didn’t know he was a shifter then. That you wouldn’t need to set him free. He can walk out of here all on his own. Albeit wearing my ex-girlfriend’s clothes.”
“It’s all so strange.”
“Whatever you’re feeling, follow your heart. All your life, India, it’s been about the animals and the work and you’ve lost yourself in it all. There is more to life than this reclusive life you’ve chosen. If you think Rex might be part of that, let him in.”
India looked at the ground and considered Eve’s words. Already, she knew, her feelings had changed about this way of living. She knew too that she chose this because of what happened to her in that vet’s surgery in Helena. A wolf’s bite had changed her forever and that fear of wolves, though diminished, remained.
“You think you’ll take him on?” Eve asked. She liked Rex and wanted to know what her sister thought about this. For too long, India had put life on hold, like she had accepted that nobody would want her with her disfigurement.
“Why? It would be half a life. He would only be human sometimes and I’d spend the rest of the time worried about him.”
“That’s what love is like India. You just need to buy into making the time you’re together the best time of all.”
India walked inside. Eve could be a persuasive philosopher when she chose, but she was not ready to decide tonight. She needed sleep and to see what the morning brought.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Rex woke with a start. Maddox was shaking him. He sat up in the camp bed, still sleepy and disorientated.
“What’s happening?”
“We’re leaving, you coming?” Maddox asked.
He lay back down on the pillow. “I have this,” he said, touching the dressing on his throat. “I have to let the stitches dissolve and have them checked for infection.”
Maddox sat quietly, Xander and Rafe were raiding the kitchen for snacks.
“You have a personal physician Rex. He can check it out for you.”
Rex nodded but he still lay still.
“Is it the girl?” Maddox asked. “It’s obvious you’re hot for her.”
Rex raised himself up on one elbow. “I want her but I don’t think she feels the same. She doesn’t want our life, all the shifting and hunting.”
“That’s what makes our lives great, right? And there will be additional challenges on the eastside when Kyle becomes Alpha. I think things will be better then. We might do some good in our territories, between us all.”
“But I’m not sure about it since I met her.”
“Jeez, you’ve only known her four days.”
“But you know that you know when you’ve met your mate Maddox.”
Maddox raised his eyebrows. “Well..”
“You’re a wolf-slut.”
Maddox laughed but it was true that he mated a lot but, as yet, was not looking for the special one.
“She’s my mate. I know it. I feel it in every fiber of my being.”
“That’s no good if she doesn’t want the life. Come on, the doctor can check you out when you get h
ome.”
He pulled at Rex’s hand again and reluctantly, he rose.
“Maddox, I can’t come back. Not yet. Let me talk to her some more at least, and let her see this treatment through. I know it means a lot to her. She’s kind of conscientious.”
“I noticed that. Oh well, see you soon.”
He leaned in and rested his nose against Rex’s neck. The other two did the same, and they left, walking out into the yard to climb the fence, their pockets full of chips and cans of pop.
Rex lay back down and realized he was on the verge of making the biggest decision of his life. He was not putting the pack or brotherhood or history first. He was considering walking away for a woman he had only known four days.
He thought of his Papa’s description of meeting his mother, who ran with omegas on his land. There was never any doubt in his father’s mind that he would take her for his own, even though she was low born. His father described it as ‘love instinct’. Well he felt that too for India. He just needed to convince her too.
*******
India lay in bed but sleep would not come. She wrestled with anxiety. It lay like a cruel squatter in her tummy and her thoughts and its command over her was relentless. She sipped water from her bedside table and let out a deep sigh. Eve, who was sleeping on the sofa was snoring downstairs and India was glad she chose to not sleep upstairs with her as she often did. The spare room was still a tip, and neither of them could face cleaning it out. She envied Eve her sleep.
India was usually good at making decisions and capable, always, of standing back from a situation and seeing it in its full spectrum of good through to bad. Only when she could decipher every tiny thread of a dilemma, would she decide. This was different. He was a wolf sometimes, a human sometimes, and she came to this with no experience worthy of mention with other men. A few dates, ended in fumbling, and with her leaving without committing further. What did he bring to this? He may have slept with hundreds of other wolves and other women. She could not enter his world with so little of her own on which to draw.