by Meg Ripley
The snapping of a twig off to his left caught his attention. Flint paused. That wasn’t a sound made by an animal. He knew the difference between a human foot crashing through the brush and the wary steps of a beast. He pricked up his ears and sucked air in through his nostrils, detecting a familiar scent. Careful not to give his own position away, Flint crept slowly nearer.
The light of day might not have been to the advantage of anyone else, but Flint knew the play of shadows would work well with his mottled fur, and he slalomed through the trees until he found the humans.
Flint had expected to find strangers on pack land, someone coming down from the state plot, crossing borders on the back side to attack one of the members. What he found instead was Nate, standing in a small clearing with Richard.
“Thanks for meeting me out here,” Nate said as he pulled a cigarette from one pocket and a lighter from the other. “I had to get out of the pack house for a bit. There’s just too much going on.”
Richard scratched at his dark beard. He looked to be about ten years older than Nate, pushing forty if not already in his forties, and Flint wondered why he should be the second. Could Nate actually be that good of a leader? He doubted it.
“You’re worried about Audra,” the beta stated with a small nod. “She’s always been able to take care of herself, though.”
But Nate shook his head, putting his lighter away and pulling a long drag. “She puts on that tough exterior, but I don’t think she really feels that way inside. That asshole Luke probably messed her up a lot more than she’d be willing to admit.”
“Just let her work through it. There’s nothing you can do for her right now except be there for her. That’s probably what she needs the most. Hell, being here with the pack is what keeps most of us wanting to wake up in the morning.” Richard grabbed a handful of pine needles from a low-hanging branch and ran them through his fingers.
“Even if that’s true, this is one hell of a time for her to come back. I don’t need to be worrying about her while I’m working on all these plans. I can’t let her and Randy get in the way of expanding our territory.” Nate puffed a column of smoke into the air through the side of his mouth.
Flint took a few careful steps further forward, not wanting to miss a word of this.
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Richard countered.
“Yeah. Seems wrong to have to keep something like that from her. She was always the one who knew about all my antics as a kid. Sometimes she snitched, but most of the time, she let me handle my own business.” Nate flicked ashes onto the forest floor. “I guess it’s not like everyone else knows and she’s the only one in the dark, though. I can’t just let everyone in on this, or else it’s all out the window.”
In on what? Flint demanded in his head. From the moment he’d met Nate, he’d had a feeling he was hiding something, but that made sense considering that Flint was an outsider. Turns out he was just as secretive with people he knew and trusted.
“Speaking of, do you have plans for the next strike? I figure we’ve hit the Black Forest pack quite a bit lately. Might be time to turn our focus back on Woodland Park for a bit. Neither one of them are very big, and I’m surprised they continue to fight back like they have.” Richard let the pine needles fall from his fingers one at a time and then grabbed another handful from the branch.
Nate nodded, a half-smile tipping up his mouth mischievously. “They won’t fight back for long. We’ll have their territory and their numbers, whether they like it or not. These small packs are stupid if they keep fighting instead of just joining us, if only for the sake of safety. Anyone we can’t assimilate will be run off, and either way, we get the territory and an even bigger membership.”
“And more dues,” Richard concluded, shaking his head and letting out a small laugh. “You know, Nate, I wasn’t sure about you when you first took up your position as Alpha. I figured you were too young to really know what you were doing. But the money is certainly flowing in, and I don’t think any of the members question it. They’re happy to pay their dues, and they don’t see anything wrong with it because they don’t bother to look.”
“Hey, they should be happy. These dues aren’t just paying for things like a nice pack house and more land. I’m talking massive investments, real estate purchases that we can turn around and make us tons of money. We’ll not only be the biggest pack in the area, but the richest.” Nate took a final puff before tossing his butt onto the ground and twisting it into the dirt with his heel. “Uncle Gary was an idiot for trying to keep the old way of life. Things just aren’t like that anymore.”
So that was it. The calls to the SOS Force had come in from all over this area, but the attacks were all being perpetrated by Nate’s pack. Flint guessed that Nate was careful not to let the wrong people know he was the one behind them all, and it was for nothing but money and land. It saved him the work of infiltrating the other packs in the area as well, but Flint couldn’t say he was happy about it.
6
Audra sat on the edge of the couch with her arms folded, trying not to listen. Randy looked so happy with her cell phone pressed against his chubby little cheek.
“Yeah? I like the zoo! I like the elephants, and the giraffes, and…and those weird deer with the funny antlers. When are we going?”
She turned away and let out an inaudible sigh. Luke was making him promises again. This was the last thing she needed. It’d been much harder to come home than she’d imagined. Her mother was still certain that this was something permanent, and had even gone so far as to start forwarding any job openings that she thought Audra might qualify for. Her father didn’t put quite as much pressure on her, although Audra thought perhaps he was more subtle about it. Mr. Larson restricted himself to comments about how nice it was to have his little football buddy around the house whenever Randy cuddled up with him in front of the television, and he teased Audra about not sneaking out of her room at night like she used to when she was a teenager. Even Nate seemed unable to resist treating her like some beaten woman who’d returned home with her tail between her legs, even though she didn’t feel that way. She just needed a moment to get back to herself, to collect her thoughts, to make some decisions. Did that have to be so hard?
Of course, Luke was only going to make it harder. “Okay, Daddy. I love you, too,” Randy was saying into the phone. He then held it out for her. “Daddy wants to talk to you.”
She cringed inwardly. Luke was the last person she wanted to talk to. She would never regret having Randy, but if there wasn’t a child involved, she’d have been able to blow Luke off and pretend he never existed. “Thanks, baby. Go on in the kitchen with Grandma, okay?” Audra waited until he was gone before she put the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
“Hey. What are you still doing down there in the Springs? I thought it was just supposed to be a long weekend.” He sounded so accusatory, like she was some lost dog he owned that shouldn’t have left the yard.
“As I recall, I never said how long I’d be gone.” Audra knew she didn’t owe him any explanations, and he didn’t deserve them.
“You can’t just keep him away from me like this. It’s not right. I’m his father, Audra, and the problems between us don’t have anything to do with Randy.”
She sighed again. That was true, but it didn’t make her any happier. The fact that Luke had cheated on her made Audra wonder just how much she really could trust him with their son. Was he truly going to be the good father to Randy that he swore he wanted to be? After all, having affairs with random women had been his priority when they were still married, so why should he suddenly decide to put Randy first? And if he’d cared about their boy, then why hadn’t he done his best to create a stable home life for him?
But she’d already had these arguments with Luke, more times than she cared to count. “Then you can come down here and spend some time with him. He’s under the impression that you’re going to take him to the zoo.”
/> “Yeah, and I will,” Luke growled. “I’ve just got to rearrange some things for the weekend. I don’t see why you always have to make me look like the bad guy, Audra.”
“I don’t. You do a good enough job of that on your own. Call me when you get in town.” She hung up and flung the phone onto the couch, not wanting to even look at it. Sure, Luke would make the two-and-a-half-hour drive to come spend a day with Randy. She’d believe it when she saw it.
Unfortunately, Randy would continue to believe it, and probably even after it didn’t happen he would hold out hope that his father wanted to spend time with him. Audra knew she couldn’t keep Randy away from Luke, and that wasn’t really her intention. She just didn’t want to deal with her ex at all.
Audra went about her evening as normally as she possibly could, even though it was difficult to stay in her parents’ home. She ate dinner silently, only speaking enough to remind Randy to chew with his mouth closed and to use his napkin. She had to make a decision. She had to figure out what she was going to do with the rest of her life, and if that involved staying there, then she’d definitely have to get an apartment.
“Good night, sweetheart,” she said softly to Randy as she tucked him in later that evening. “I hope you have all the best dreams in the world.”
“I’m going to dream about the zoo,” the boy boasted. “I like the zoo.”
“I know you do, baby.” Her heart cracked a little further to know he was still thinking about it. More than likely, Luke had already forgotten about his promise. He never thought about anyone but himself. But she couldn’t quite bring herself to tell Randy the truth, that Luke probably wouldn’t come. “What else are you going to dream about?”
Randy snuggled down into the dark blue sheets, looking so happy and innocent. “Soldiers.”
“Soldiers? And what will those soldiers be doing?” Randy had always had such a vivid imagination. It didn’t matter what they were talking about, he always had some story to tell. She expected some variation on a movie he’d seen.
“Well, I’m gonna be a soldier just like Flint,” Randy enthused. “And we’re gonna get all the bad guys. Pow, pow, pow! Like that! And then we get to eat, because being a soldier is really hard work and you need your rest sometimes.”
“Flint?” Audra sucked in a breath at hearing his name. She’d tried not to think about the newcomer, though it was proving harder and harder to do. Audra knew there was something up with him, even though she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Things weren’t any easier, given the way he made her feel. She’d drawn him out to the woods with the intent of getting all his secrets out of him, but instead, she’d been on the verge of spilling her own. Or maybe doing something else she shouldn’t be doing with someone she’d just met.
“Yeah. He played with me today.” Randy was out from under the covers now, kneeling on the bed so that his eyes were level with hers. “He’s a really good soldier, and he’s tall enough to reach the Goldfish crackers.”
“Oh.” Why should it throw her off so much that Flint had spent time with her son? The logical part of her brain knew that anyone in the pack should be trusted, and that they all took care of each other. How many times had her own parents left her and Nate with one of the other members when they needed to take care of a family emergency or even just have a date? But this was different, somehow, because they hadn’t known Flint all their lives. “Well, that was very nice of him.”
“Can I go back to the pack house and play with him again soon? I want to show him my monster trucks.” He grabbed one of the toys from the nightstand and began running its wheels up and down the comforter, mocking the rumbling engine and squealing brakes.
“We’ll just have to see.” That was starting to become her answer for everything, because Audra never really knew what was going to happen. Would he get to stay at Grandma and Grandpa’s a little longer? They’d have to see. Could he have fried chicken for dinner? She’d see. Would they go back to the pack house soon to play with Flint? She’d just have to see, although she wasn’t sure she wanted to. “Right now, you need to get some sleep. Goodnight, baby. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He obediently returned his truck to the nightstand and got back under the covers.
Audra turned off the light and closed the door, leaving it open just a crack so Randy could use the light from the hallway in case he needed to get up to go to the bathroom. He was such a brave little boy, and so kind, and so trusting. He really believed Luke would take him to the zoo, and what did he believe about Flint? She wasn’t completely sure what she believed herself.
Her mother was sitting on the living room sofa, her embroidery hoop in her hand. Her father had turned on a documentary and had fallen asleep with his mouth open.
“Did you get him all tucked in, dear? I’m surprised he didn’t fall asleep in his dinner plate with as hard as he plays. I swear he did about fifty laps around the backyard this afternoon.” She slipped her needle through the fabric, drawing up a bright strand of purple embroidery floss.
Audra felt like she could do the same, if only to let go of some of the tension that was sitting to heavily in her shoulders. “He’s always been full of energy, but I’ve been lucky with him. He’s not like other boys who just climb the walls and cause trouble randomly. He always thinks of something he wants to do, and then he goes and does it. I hope he stays like that when he’s grown up. There’s no telling how successful he could be.”
Mrs. Larson set down her sewing to lay a cool hand on Audra’s arm. “You don’t have any need to worry about him, dear, even though I know you do. He seems to be dealing very well with…everything.”
Audra wished she could say the same about herself. “Yes, he does. Hey, could you keep an ear out for him for a bit?”
“Where are you going? It’s pretty late.”
She didn’t want to hear a lecture from her mom. She was far too old for that. But she was back under their roof after all, even if it was only for a short time. “I’m just going to head out for a run. I need to blow off some steam.”
Her mother looked up from her stitching. “You know I don’t mind, but I’m worried. Nate says it’s just not safe for shifters out there right now. Maybe you should go to the clubhouse and see if someone could go with you.”
Audra’s stomach sank in on itself. Flint was there, which made it the last place she wanted to be. But her mother wasn’t wrong. If what Nate said was true, then these shifter attacks were only increasing. They never made it into the local news, of course, because Nate and the Alphas from the other packs did a good job of keeping it under wraps, but they all knew the truth. “I’ll see what I can do,” she promised.
The pack house was just up the road, and she decided to hop in her car and drive up there. But instead of going inside to look for a willing companion to head out into the woods with her, Audra skirted the outside of the garage and headed for the back of the house. She peeked around the corner at the back deck, but no one was outside. Perfect.
Her mother was right and so was Nate. The violence in the neighborhood meant that neither she nor anyone else should be out on their own. Safety in numbers and all that, but she didn’t care about safety at that moment. She just needed to get away and have some time by herself.
Audra shifted as soon as she entered the woods, letting her human body melt away in favor of a lean, athletic wolf’s. Her coat, like Nate’s, was darker than most, with tones of black and deep brown between the pale silver hairs, creating a dark mask across the front of her face. She trotted through the forest with ease, grateful for the release of this body.
As she moved on silent paws, she suddenly knew exactly why she’d come back home. Her life in Fort Collins had been an urban one, unassociated with any packs or the life she was meant to lead. There was comfort in the simplicity of letting her wild side free, and she’d missed it.
Audra built up speed as she charged through the trees, dodging left and right to miss the wide
trunks, her mouth opening to taste the wind on her tongue. She felt it through her fur and down her tail, caressing her, welcoming her home. This was her place, and none of the stupid choices she’d made as a human mattered in that moment. It was just her and the wilderness. She cast her glance up toward the sky, a deep black smattered with brilliant stars. There was no moon to light her way, though she didn’t need it.
Her sensitive nose picked something up that made her stop in her tracks, the claws on her hind paws digging into the hard dirt. She wasn’t alone out there. Audra looked around and saw nothing at first, but her instincts told her otherwise. She kept to the shadows, knowing her dark fur would help her camouflage. Her ears swiveled this way and that as she listened, her paws instinctively landing where soft beds of pine needles muffled their sound. Whomever was there, she needed to see them.
She’d climbed far into the foothills now and was nearly on state land, where she didn’t dare go. It might’ve been illegal to hunt wolves, but that never stopped anyone looking for a trophy. Audra headed to her right to avoid the border, turning just in time to see a silvery form emerge from the trees.
He was a big wolf, with a thick coat that made him look even larger than he might have otherwise. His fur was a pale but lustrous silver, his undercoat slightly darker and spattered with pale gold. He was positively beautiful as he stepped out into the starlight onto the top edge of a bluff. Simply seeing him there made her muscles tense as she watched, her brain and her feet arguing on whether or not to charge forward.