by DG Wood
“I told you to kill a man, not murder a werewolf and rape his wife.”
Wyatt thought carefully about his response.
“You raised an Alpha to act in the best interests of this town. We need more women of breeding age. Thanks to me, we have one more. With a ready-made child, if I did my job well.”
“I raised two Alphas.”
Luther turned to follow Buck back to town.
Wyatt understood what his father had said all too well.
Wyatt made his move just after the birth of his son. The son that was taken away from him. Trey had his mother’s black hair. He was a Darkly.
Wyatt had always hated that family. Claiming their right to sit in judgment over the rest of them simply because they could trace their family back to the only surviving wilderness child of Nebuchadnezzar. They viewed themselves as the only true werewolves. Everyone else was just a walking STD.
Catharine escaping Wolf Woods devastated her parents. Her mother died of a broken heart, and her father, Old Man Darkly, stepped down as magistrate the day after his wife died, walked out into the woods and was never seen again. No body was retrieved. Wyatt knew the reason for that. He’d followed the old man out into the woods, killed him, and then ate him. That was the greatest show of disrespect one werewolf could show another. Now who was lord of the realm?
There would be no return of the Darkly family. Once Wyatt had taken care of Luther, he would come for Catharine. And Trey—never mind that he was half Wyatt. He wouldn’t kill his turncoat wife. He’d teach her a lesson. Maybe bite off an arm. A finger might grow back. But a whole arm?
The day came when Luther let a trucker go. The man was hauling canned goods. He’d stumbled along the little town after a couple unfortunate wrong turns. Over a bowl of oatmeal at The Moon River Diner, he told Luther his sad tale. He was a father of five, newly a widower, and now the only bread winner. Luther had lost Buck’s mother in childbirth. The child would have been a sister to Buck and Wyatt. But neither she nor Luther’s wife survived.
Luther took pity on the trucker and let him go. When Wyatt caught up with the trucker, killed the man, and brought back two years’ worth of food with him, Luther was out and Wyatt in.
Wyatt passed out silver bullets to his posse, and they descended on the sheriff, charging him with dereliction of duty. Luther informed his oldest son he would have to shoot him with one of those bullets before he stepped foot in his own jail cell. So, that’s just what Wyatt did. Then, he and his wolves showed up at Buck’s door.
Catharine’s mental state was compromised. Months of fighting nature would do that to you. But, even in this state, she could tell Buck was not bluffing. And she suddenly wanted her son to live. Very much so.
She let go.
Buck put down the gun and nodded at Geraldine.
“We bring Wyatt down, and the rest will scatter,” said Buck.
Now three wolves faced the onslaught together, as the door gave way, and the table was thrown aside like a piece of cardboard.
And just as Buck had banked on, the mother wolf guarding her young, who slept soundly without fear, attacked the young wolves loyal to Wyatt with a ferocity they were not prepared for. Wyatt and Catharine soon focused solely on one another, as Geraldine and Buck held the less experienced fighters at bay.
Catharine took revenge for both her husband and herself. She suffered puncture wounds to her jaw, chest and hindquarters. But, in the end, her jaws found their way to Wyatt’s trachea, where they did not let go. And despite the hatred that transcended her human condition, Catharine knew as a wolf, that Wyatt must slink away beaten, for his followers to abandon the cause and him.
Wyatt was last seen limping up the ridge. Alone.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Peter let go of the grip he had on Shane’s curly hair, kissed his neck, and then rolled over to spread out across the sheets exhausted. He had been holding that in for awhile. He and Shane had found each other attractive early on. They were both gay, fit, good-looking and decent guys. Both were in committed, happy relationships, and respected that.
“I mean, my God,” Shane wittily remarked, “It’s not like we’re actresses. We don’t have to fuck our co-star.”
But, now, looking across the room at the 1950s suit that had been delivered to his room for what was described to him as his courting session, Peter felt that the couple hours he and Shane shared together this morning could end up being the last opportunity in his life to throw caution to the wind.
Victoria escorted Serena to the party.
“If you try to run, I’ll turn into a wolf and bring you back in pieces,” Victoria said frankly.
Serena didn’t reply, and Victoria realized she might have come on a little strong.
“Your dress looks nice.”
The dress was, in fact, hideous. It was a white cotton dress with mini black umbrellas printed all over it. White was being generous. It was actually more a gray, due to the discoloring of age. Serena had no choice but to put it on, as Victoria hovered over her in threatening fashion.
“You’re going to a party. People should smile at parties.”
Serena responded by popping another pill.
“What are those?”
“Supplements,” Serena answered.
“Well, I’d make them last. We don’t have a ‘supplement’ shop.”
Serena found her backbone briefly.
“If I’m forced to become one of you people, the first thing I’m doing is this—”
Serena grabbed her own arm, bit into it, and pretended to shake the arm and growl.
Victoria gave Serena her space the rest of the way to the church.
Gus was drifting in and out of semi-consciousness. There was no escape Darkly could make while he was in this state. A Mountie did not abandon another Mountie. Buck knew this, so she was allowed to wander freely in town. Still, as a precaution, the two working telephones were put under armed guard in case she decided to alert her superiors.
Mrs. Ross was a caring nurse. She doted on Gus, repositioning him on the hour to prevent bedsores, and even bathing him. Dealing with such dead weight could not have been an easy task. She never complained, and she insisted on feeding Darkly at mealtimes.
Seeing as Gus’s condition did not appear to be taking a dramatic turn in either direction, Darkly did not feel guilty being dragged away to this little party the town had organized. She and the other visitors were the guests of honor after all, and Buck had promised to dispel the notion that his people were only monsters.
She would humor the town’s notions, not rock the boat. When Gus was ready, he, Darkly, and the rest of the group would escape. Then she would come back in force and arrest the lot of them. If Geraldine resisted that arrest, she’d shoot her. With a silver bullet. Buck too, if she had to.
The question remained, what was she going to wear to the dance?
Buck delivered Carter, Marvin, Shane, Peter, and Jake to the party in the bed of his pick-up truck. Ed was in the front seat with Buck. He was carrying a small bouquet of wild flowers and wearing a bow tie.
“Tie that tie yourself, Ed?” Buck asked.
“Of course I did. Who else would have tied it?”
They arrived at the church hall, and Ed stood watch like the guard of a chain gang over the men they were transporting. It made for quite the sight. Five men in ill-fitting suits followed by a giant carrying posies.
Inside, it was evident the town had splurged. Corned beef sandwiches, cakes of every size, homemade whisky punch, streamers, and a couple of fiddle players in the corner leading children under twelve in a square dance. This was a get-together with a very serious purpose, but also the opportunity for a community to blow off steam. The guns were put away and replaced with laughter and good will.
Carter came from a wealthy family, which attracted hangers-
on. Sex came easy, but not once had he met a woman who would take him without the money. Then again, to be fair, he wasn’t much more than a shadow of his father’s accomplishments. He had never tried to find out who he was, so why should anyone else bother? He was a piggy bank: empty save for the coins rattling around inside.
Mary sat in a chair off to the side of a group of young women who were stealing looks at the visitors and comparing notes. Carter wasn’t sure what it was about Mary that caught his interest in an instant. Maybe it was the shape of her nose or mouth. Maybe it was simply the fact that she looked away when others gawked. When she finally did look their way, she looked at him. Not Jake or Marvin, not one of the handsome actors; she looked at him. And in her eyes he saw the opposite of empty.
As Carter and Mary stared at each other, Darkly descended on the party and drew the attention of more than just Buck in the little black number she borrowed from Mrs. Ross. It smelled a little of moth balls, but the 1940s retro-chic dress with a high Chinese collar was a knock-out.
Buck had laid claim to Darkly in the town council meeting. Now, it was time to make clear his intentions to everyone else. He walked up to Darkly and placed his hand on the small of her back.
Darkly recognized what the gesture meant.
“I see,” she said, staring a hole through Buck until he blinked.
“There’s someone I’d like you to meet,” said Buck, changing the unspoken subject.
“Your mother?”
“My mother’s dead. Just like my father.”
Darkly was chastened. “I’m very sorry.”
Carter couldn’t believe he was about to march right up and talk to the woman in the corner. This ridiculous invite to settle down in Wolf Woods or die by the jaws of a wolf didn’t inspire one to cross a bridge to friendship and perhaps something more. But that was exactly what his feet seemed intent on doing.
Then Buck got in the way. He guided Darkly over to the corner and introduced her to Mary. At least Carter knew her name now.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Mary said in a faint voice.
Mary waited for Darkly to reply, but Darkly was mesmerized by the spiderweb of blue veins that crisscrossed Mary’s chest above the neckline of her modest dress. The lines were fainter than Darkly’s, submerged under the skin, but extensive in their reach. Mary followed Darkly’s gaze and pulled a shawl around herself.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Mary,” Darkly said far too late.
Mary got up with some difficulty and excused herself. She reached behind her and grabbed two wooden canes hanging on the back of the chair. She used both canes to hobble past Carter and his cast and crew, who were holding plates onto which the older women of the church were piling the food they’d prepared. Carter turned to watch Mary leave the church basement. Buck took note of this. One more match down. That was easy, and he had to admit, a little unexpected.
“Why did you introduce me to her?” asked Darkly.
At that moment, one of the fiddle players called the adults to the floor to dance. Buck watched in amusement, as the old ladies who had handed the men food now took it away and led them each to the women standing on the other side of the room, ordering them to dance. Awkwardly and wary of the consequences of disobedience, they did as they were told. Clearly, the women were expecting to be led in a waltz. What resulted was much fidgeting of placement of hands and a general shuffling of feet under the spell of no particular rhythm.
Buck turned to take Darkly’s hand, with the intent of leading her to the dance floor.
“I thought you might have a few things in common.”
Darkly ignored the gesture and sat down in Mary’s vacated seat.
“I see what you mean. Mary and I are both wallflowers.”
While this drama was wrapping up, another was blooming. When Victoria arrived with Serena, she marched her right up to Ed and handed her off.
“Here she is,” Victoria told Ed. “Good luck,” she said to Serena in parting.
Serena looked up at Ed, and he down at her. Not knowing what to do, Ed handed Serena the flowers and went out to sit in Buck’s truck. He left Serena standing there, in shock, staring at a cluster of ragweed and dandelions tied together with string and wishing this nightmare would come to an end.
Carter and his men were passed around the room. When Buck felt they had been tortured enough, he called a halt to the music and addressed the whole room.
“It’s nice to see we haven’t forgotten how to hold a dance.”
Darkly spotted Serena across the room and went to her. Serena just stared at the floor, while Buck continued.
“Seventeen years ago, we thought we had found a way to fit in with the outside world. One of our own left us and then returned with the promise of a cure.”
Buck looked directly at Darkly.
“It didn’t quite turn out that way. She and her husband were good people.”
Dissent rose up from the party-goers, and Buck raised his hands to halt it.
“No, they were. Their intentions were honorable, but what had worked on their own child,” Buck paused here to let what he was saying sink in with Darkly, “drove our children to madness or left them plagued with recurring ailments. Too few recovered, and too many died.”
Darkly saw the flash of a woman’s hands working the metal, crafting the necklace she herself wore, hidden under her dress. She reached up to touch its outline through the material.
“So we renewed our hopes for another way out of hiding. There is always hope.”
This was Buck the politician speaking, and he connected individually with the people he led: a nod to one old farmer, a pat on the head for a grandson, a smile for a mother. Buck’s eyes next met those of Victoria and Trey.
“And though we continue on, building new families, there are no longer enough of us to sustain a community.”
Buck paused. The people nodded their heads in acknowledgment of the stark reality.
“Some of our young people volunteered to leave and find their mates in the outside world. We do not know if we will see them again. If they are successful, then our kind will spread, and, eventually, the secret will be so common, it will no longer be a secret.”
Buck walked up to Carter and spoke to him, man to man.
“So we offer you a bargain. All of you. Choose your wife here from among us. Mate. And when your first child is the age of one, we will let you go. You will return to your homes with your new families, and your children will change the world.”
“Is he saying you become a werewolf by fucking one of them?” Shane whispered to Peter.
“Yes,” replied Peter. “What planet have you been visiting the past twenty-four hours?”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Darkly returned to Gus’s side and took over his care from Mrs. Ross so that she could go to the party and dance with her husband. Darkly had to remind herself of the danger even she faced of succumbing to Stockholm syndrome. A good-looking sheriff who wanted her doggy style and a doctor’s wife who reminded her of Mrs. Claus aside, these people, this whole town, was guilty of kidnapping and of threatening with bodily harm.
Darkly considered Mary. Buck knew she had the same mark as Mary. He had seen it on her, or someone else had and reported it to him. Had Mary worn a necklace fashioned by her biological mother? To prevent her from turning into a werewolf? And had that necklace left her a cripple? Did that mean Darkly was a werewolf? No, that couldn’t be. There was nothing wrong with her. She had worn the necklace for longer than she could remember. No deformities.
She heard the front door open downstairs.
“Darkly?” It was Buck’s voice.
What if she didn’t answer?
“May I come up?”
Would he think she escaped? No, he’d figured her out. He knew it was her duty to escape, but also that she’d find a
way to get everyone else out with her. Yet, Buck was a man, and men gave a lot of credence to their charm. He would try to convince her she was right where she belonged. With him.
Darkly also knew that if Buck thought she was softening to the idea, he would be easier to deceive when the time came.
“Yes. I’m up here.”
Buck appeared a few minutes later. He carried two plates. One of sandwiches and one of cake.
“I noticed you didn’t eat anything.”
Buck placed the plates on a dresser and looked down on Gus.
“How’s he doing?” asked Buck.
There was genuine regret in his voice.
“He still hasn’t regained consciousness,” replied Darkly.
“If he doesn’t make it, Geraldine will face a trial. You have my word on that.”
“If he doesn’t make it? So, if Gus heals entirely, no harm done? If he wakes up but can’t use his legs ever again, does she get community service?”
“You should know that Geraldine saved your mother’s life.”
Buck went on to relate the events that took place from the time when Darkly was hidden in the RV to well past the time she was transported across the country.
“Okay, hold on, cowboy,” Darkly said pacing the room. “If I’m one of you, why hasn’t this necklace made me a cripple?”
“Are you telling me it’s not uncomfortable in the least?” Buck replied.
Darkly didn’t answer the questioning. She didn’t have to do anything. She was the only law that mattered here now.
“Trey. Your brother. He wasn’t thrilled about wearing the necklace, but he came away unharmed.”
Darkly didn’t try to hide the rolling of her eyes.
“He is your brother.”
“You turn yourself in to me at the nearest RCMP post, and I will happily take a genetic test.”
Buck ignored the suggestion.
“Your mother put an end to Trey’s treatment when she saw what it was doing to the other children. I didn’t want her to. I was young and suggested we make a run for it. We’d take Trey back to Portland and live a quiet life. But your mother insisted she stay to make amends for the damage she’d done to the people of Wolf Woods. That was the kind of woman she was, Darkly.”