"I'm sorry Danielle," Alice whispered realizing her friend would never hear her. She exhaled and let the darkness consume her.
Bash moved through the trees poking his head around each branch and trunk before moving on. The air had a hint of rust and salt that tickled his nose as he moved. He stopped by a large tree fallen from the storm. His ears perked up as took in the surrounding sounds. In the distance a husky voice rose and fell as the winds crashed against the leaves in the trees. He tried to focus on what was being said, but the words were not clear enough to understand.
"Where are you?" he whispered into the night. He let his eyes roam through the shadows and adjust to the silver light of the moon. "You are here somewhere, I can smell the blood."
Bash continued down the slope of the mountain and stopped. He saw the placid lake spanned out before him and gasped to see the open still water reflecting the moon. For a moment he believed he had entered into a new world. The lake reflected everything from the moon to the trees and even the side of the mountains that protected it.
"Wow," was all he could say, but he didn't have time to appreciate the scenery, a life was on the line and he had no time to waste.
Ever so carefully, he wove in and out of the trees making certain to remain masked in the shadows. He knew Derek's hearing was just as keen as his, but if he could move like other animals lurking in these parts, he had a chance to continue unseen.
A low gleam of red and orange caught his attention. Bash paused by the large aspen tree poking his head around the trunk. There he spotted the alpha. His heart sputtered, and he held his breath.
"Please," the girl begged. Bash glanced over to see a young girl standing beside the alpha. Bash could tell by the way her shoulders slumped down, she was upset. Bash glanced around the trees and made a break for the next trunk hoping for a closer view.
"Danielle, you don't know our ways. Alice knew what she was getting herself into when she came here." The alpha's voice was laced with his commands, but from Bash's view he knew they had no hold on the girl.
"So you're Danielle," Bash thought watching the girl with the alpha. "Then Alice must be around here somewhere too. Oh God, what if I am too late?"
Bash's mind wheeled about as he sniffed the air. The heavy stench of rust was overwhelming. He closed his eyes and allowed the surrounding sounds to fill his ears. Normally he hated all the things he could listen to, but tonight he prayed he would be able to pick up everything.
He stood in the shadows with his lungs full of trapped air and listened. Every sound exploded in his ears, from the drumming of the rain water falling from leaf to leaf, to the sound of the couple down by the lake. Then, came the faintest hint of a heartbeat.
Bash's eyes popped opened and his sight adjusted. A body rested, there in the nook of an old tree. Bash sprinted to it and pulled the leaves from around it. He leaned in close and pressed his head down. Alice’s heart was still drumming but growing fainter by the moment.
"What did you get yourself into?" Bash whispered in her ear. Alice moaned ever so lightly. His ears perked up—in the distance he heard the woman's voice rising up from the lake.
"Please," Danielle begged. "I will let you change me if you don't let Alice die."
"Oh crap," Bash said scooping Alice up into his arms. "Hold on. I am going to get you out of here."
In her stupor, Alice's eyes rolled back into her head. A weak moan escaped her lips giving Bash the reassurance he needed. Without missing a beat, he pushed the loose strands of hair out of Alice's face and focused on the wounds. A salty rust scent caused his nose to wrinkle.
"You are losing a lot of blood," he whispered into Alice's ear. "Hold on," Bash cooed, hoisting the girl up into his arms. Without hesitation, he sprinted into the woods. Behind him hushed tones filtered into his ears. He glanced down at Alice. "I'll get you outta here."
Bash paused by a tree and set Alice down for a moment. He poked his head around the trunk and listened. In the space between the trees, he noticed dark shadows shifting and poking around the area they were hiding.
"I left her right here," Derek said scanning the area and pushing aside the fallen twigs and shrubs.
"Well where is she? Please tell me you didn't kill her?" Danielle's face was flushed with anger. The thought of her best friend dying alone broke her spirits. Danielle dropped to her knees throwing her hands up to her face. Instantly, Derek rushed to her side.
"I can track her, but you will have to keep up. And Danielle," Derek paused looking down at the distraught girl at his feet. "You’ll have to prepare yourself for the worse."
"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn’t done this," Danielle snapped. Derek stepped back and glared at her.
"Alice attacked me first, remember? She brought this on herself."
"You didn't have to fight back. You could have let her thrash you and then I could have explained the situation."
"It’s not in my nature to let a weaker dog take me out. What would my pack say?"
"Your pack isn't here! It was just you and me and now Alice is gone."
"Danielle," Derek's voice dropped, and he fell to his knees, looking at Danielle. He cupped his hand around the girl's face and forced her to look at him. "Look, Alice may be fine. If she was able to run away from here, then maybe she isn't dying."
"But you don't know that." Danielle huffed, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"I don't know that. But what I do know, is that Alice is gone. We can pick up the search tomorrow. Right now, I want to bring you back to town so you can get some sleep."
"I can't sleep knowing my friend is hurting."
"I am not about to let you stay here alone. There are things in these woods that would kill you just for having my scent on you."
"Such as?" Danielle's eyes widened in fear as she scanned the area.
"I’d rather not say. Just know that you can't find Alice in the dark. We’ll search for her tomorrow."
"But…"
"No." Derek leaned in and pressed his lips to Danielle's forehead. He pulled back and sighed. "If you want to be like me, you are going to have to learn to take orders. Right now, I am ordering you to come with me."
Danielle shook her head and rose to her feet. Tears streamed down her burning face and her eyes searched through the shadows. For a moment Bash thought the human had spotted him and he ducked around the tree taking cover.
"Come on," Derek said. The sound of heavy footsteps falling away from him allowed Bash to breathe more easily. He glanced down at the injured woman at his feet.
"Oh man," Bash said wiping the sweat from his brow. "I don't know what you did to piss him off, but you barked up the wrong tree, Lady."
He leaned down and picked Alice up. Her body slumped towards his. With one arm over his shoulder and the other dangling down towards the ground, Alice dreamed. The hushed voices and scent of pine mixed with basil filled her nose. She grunted and a hearty laugh rumbled.
"Sleep. We will talk in the morning."
Bash sprinted through the trees holding Alice close to him. With each mile he ran, questions filled his mind. He glanced at the girl in his arms. Her hair drifted like flowers swayed by the wind. Even the blood splattered across her pale face reminded him of some Van Gogh painting he had seen as a boy.
"Almost there," he said coming up to a small cottage on the edge of Yellowstone National Park. Smoke rose towards the sky from the stone chimney.
Bash pushed through the door and rushed Alice to the couch. Ever so gently he placed her on the cushions and rushed back to the kitchen. He grabbed the needed supplies and quickly went to work on her trying to keep her from slipping into the next world.
"You are safe," he whispered. "Rest."
Bash splashed the warm water on Alice's face, cleaning up the dried blood. With every sweep of the wash cloth, he stared more intently at the girl lying helpless on his couch. His heart splintered as he clung to hope.
Chapter 7
"Where am I?" Alic
e lifted her throbbing head trying to focus. Every bit of her body ached as she rose up. The warm sunlight blasted through the open window and the pounding of footsteps echoed in her ears.
"My place," a familiar voice said. Alice flinched at the male voice. Pain ripped through her as thoughts of Derek filled her mind. There was no way she was going to be able to fight him now, not while she was so badly injured.
Alice tried to rise from the couch, but the world spun around forcing her lie back down. She lifted up her arm to protect her face in anticipation of another blow. But when the shadow blocked out the sunlight, she opened her eyes wider. There, standing with a bowl in his hands and a smile on his face, was the park ranger.
"What are you doing here?"
"I live here," Bash said moving slowly towards her. She leaned back as he sat down at her side and offered her a bowl of stew. The aroma of meat filled her nose and stifled the harsh basil fragrance that caused her head to ache even more.
"Why does your place smell so bad?" Alice asked taking the bowl. The heat from it soothed her in an unexpected way. She stared down at the steam rising from the contents and smiled weakly.
Bash laughed and remained by her side. "It's the only thing that masks the scent."
"What scent?" Alice asked, before turning to Bash to study the three images of him. She squinted her eyes focusing on the one in front as the other two images shifted into the middle person. She blinked trying to keep her focus, but the images waved and shimmered back into three distinct people.
"Of me," Bash whispered realizing he might be speaking too loudly. "You took quite a beating last night."
"You don't have to remind me."
"You should have let me help you."
"What could you do?" Alice grunted with distrust as she sniffed the bowl wondering if he had poisoned it. Bash cocked his head and stared at her.
"Well, you may not have been beaten to a pulp for one thing. What in God's name made you think you could take out the alpha?"
"You mean Derek." Alice corrected picking up the spoon and bringing a good spoonful up to her mouth. Her lips parted with some effort and she forced herself to eat.
"You knew he was the alpha of these parts. So why did you do it? You're lucky he didn't kill you."
"Why do you care? Aren't you one of his henchmen?"
Bash shuddered at Alice's words and shook his head. "No. I would never be a part of his tribe. I doubt he even knows what I am."
"But you’re a wolf aren’t you?" Alice asked through a mouthful of stew. The corners of Bash's lips pulled up. The half-smile was weak and he dropped his gaze.
"So why are you keeping me alive?"
"Look, you have no reason to believe me, and I could be killed for helping you, but Derek has no right to take another life. I don't care if he is the alpha in these parts."
"So you're a lone wolf?" Alice's eyebrows rose as she stared at him. Bash nodded. "Why? Don't you want to be a part of the pack? Who made you? By all rights you should at least have a bonded mate."
Bash shook his head. "But what about you? Why did you attack Derek?"
"He has my friend."
"Danielle?" Alice's head jerked up. She stared at Bash with suspicion.
"How do you know Danielle? Have you seen her?"
Bash glanced down at his hands before rising to his feet. He turned around and took a seat in the large rocking chair. Sucking in a deep breath he stared at Alice.
"After you came in yesterday looking for your friend, I decided to follow you. You were after all very concerned about her. Once I caught your scent, I understood what you were. I had to help. But I lost you by the trail." Bash glanced over to the counter. Alice let her eyes wander to the pile of clothes resting in a neatly folded pile.
"It took me nearly all night to find you. But when I did it was almost too late. Derek had whipped you good."
"He won't next time."
"Are you on some kind of suicide mission?"
"I can't let Derek take Danielle from me. I won't. She is my only friend."
"So you challenged the alpha and lost. Now she will be his. I heard her say so. She wants to be like us and the alpha will honor her request."
"Why do you keep saying he is the alpha? He is nothing more than a bully. He stole that title and everyone seems to just follow him because he says so."
"I don't." Bash said throwing back his shoulders with pride in his tone.
"How is that even possible? Unless," Alice paused and stared into Bash's eyes. The flecks of gold mingled with brown were nearly a caramel color. There in the depths of his eyes she found no signs of his being bonded to anyone.
"How is it you don't belong to anyone?" Alice asked pushing another bite of stew into her bruised mouth.
"It's a long story."
"What else do I have to do?" Alice said swallowing the food down before resting the bowl on her lap. "I can't go anywhere now and I can't challenge him anytime soon."
"If I tell you my story, will you promise to let things go?"
"No. Of course not," Alice jerked back as pain shot through her ribs. "Why would you ask that? A life is at stake. I can't let Danielle become one of his tribe members. It wouldn't be fair to her. She doesn't know what she is asking." Alice puffed trying to get the words out through the pain. Bash rose from his seat with his arms out. Concern flashed across his face.
"I appreciate everything you have done for me I do, but I can't sit here and let this happen. I have to stop it." Alice tried to stand. Her knees wobbled under her weight as she tried to make it to the door.
"Please, don't go. Stay here and get some rest. Derek won't change her today. He has to wait for the new moon."
Alice paused and whipped her head around to glare at Bash. "How do you know that?"
"Sit down and I will tell you." Alice glared at him but didn't move.
"I won't force you to stay. I promise. But maybe you will understand that we have a little time on our side to rescue your friend."
Alice moved back to the couch carefully and sat down. She crossed her arms around her chest trying to hold herself together as Bash rocked back in his chair.
"I understand how these things work," Alice said. "I know more about my kind than you could possibly comprehend. Every wolf that is created is bonded to someone. That’s what makes the pack so strong. So why aren't you bonded? Were you born this way, like me?"
"You can be born into this life?" Bash's eyes opened wider and Alice snapped her mouth closed. She shook her head and sucked in a deep painful breath.
"Yes. You can be born into this life. Those that are, are typically the alphas. Which is why Derek can't be the leader of this tribe. He was bitten a long time ago by my father."
"I was bitten too," Bash confessed. "Bitten and left for dead."
Alice shook her head as the pieces began falling into place. "That is why you are not bonded to anyone. When you shifted for the first time, no one was there to show you. But if Danielle is bitten, and Derek is there she will be bonded to him for life. Her freewill and choices will be stripped from her. Derek will take away her love for me."
"How does that work?" Bash asked leaning in closer.
"First, tell me how you were changed."
Bash pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned back. Alice studied him as he struggled to remember the remaining images of his human life.
“I was scouting the new terrain here at the park. I was told to tag the wolf population to see if any were migrating back to Canada. After all, it has only been a few years since we reintroduced the wolves here.”
“One day, I was out tagging the wolves when I saw one in the distance. I tracked it until night. I made my camp and was cooking dinner when it attacked me. It bit me over and over again. Each bite was like a million needles pricking me at once. I thought it was strange the way it worked on me. Normally wolves bite and clamp down, but this one released its grip on me and attacked again.”
“Somehow I manage
d to get into my tent and to call for help. I was evacuated from the campsite and spent several days in the hospital recovering. I can remember the doctors saying it would take weeks for me to heal, but it only took days. Everyone was amazed. However, when the first new moon came four days later, a change happened.”
"You turned into a wolf."
Bash nodded his head with a sober express. "Yes. I was alone when it happened. The pain was immeasurable."
"Were there any other wolves around you when it happened?" Alice asked not realizing she was leaning in closer toward Bash as he told his story.
"No. I was in my apartment. When I came to, the next day, I found an eviction notice for disturbance and a note saying the apartment doesn't allow animals. I left that place and came here. I don't think the park even knew it had this place, so I claimed it."
Alice turned her head about the small cabin. Through her blurred vision she focused on the fireplace. In the nook between the hearth and the pit she noticed a small paw print and gasped.
"You can stay here," Alice said with a faint smile. "I doubt my father would mind."
"What?" Bash glared at her trying to make sense of her words. Alice rose to her feet and walked over to the fire place. She pressed on a small stone and wiggled it out. Carefully she reached in and wrapped her fingers around the box left inside the nook.
"What is that?" Bash asked as Alice pulled out the box and handed it to Bash.
“Something that will help you during the new moons. This place once belonged to my family. My father crafted everything you see. Except the furniture—that's new.”
"But this place has been abandoned for years."
"Twenty to be exact. The contents of that box will help you as it helped my mother."
Bash's eyes widened as he opened it up. Inside lay a handful of herbs. He glanced up to Alice with wonder.
"It is wolfs bane. It helps those like you to manage the pain of shifting. Trust me, it works."
"But how?" Bash wondered picking at the dried herbs in the box.
"My father roamed these parts well before wolves were reintroduced. He came across a female hiker one day. She was gravely injured, and he knew the only way to save her was to bite her in the hope that the wolf gene would mend her. She mended, they fell in love, then had me." Alice smiled as she pointed to the small paw print by the fire place.
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