by Claire Ryann
Rek nodded solemnly as he looked around the room, taking his time to carefully record each face, each expression. To feel what the council expected him to do next.
"Take him into custody then."
Even Daelan's wolf was quiet, too stunned by his friend's mutiny to react. Rek didn't even look at him as he pushed his chair away from the table and turned to leave.
A few of the men moved forward, holding Daelan by his arms. Even if he shifted he wouldn't be able to break their hold. He watched his former right hand man briskly move toward the exit as the council members began to file out into the big hall after him.
Daelan was being taken to the back of the main house. To the rooms in the basement that had served as detention cells when the pack had to keep someone in sight while they reached decisions about their fate.
As the guards that had been his own security detail just moments ago led him past the crowd that had gathered around the new Alpha he strained to listen to the orders that Rek hadn't wanted to give in his presence.
"...cabin. We need her here."
"NO!" Daelan's voice filled the great hall, "You sonuvabitch!" Half shifting in anger, Daelan's feet dug into the wood floor, jaws snapped at the guards holding him as he twisted in their grip, trying to lunge at Rek, "You fucking leave her alone! I swear, I will fucking kill you!"
He briefly saw the look on Rek's face as the big man turned his back on the former Alpha. It was hard.
He had no friend there. Daelan fought against the men holding him but they knew what they were doing. He'd trained them well.
***
The holding cells were a level below the main hall, at the farthest point inside the mountain. When he'd designed the main house, he'd chosen the old caves for this purpose because of the rock. Neither man nor wolf could dig through the mountain.
They weren't uncomfortable rooms but they did lack privacy and, most importantly, they were locked from the outside.
Daelan paced. He barked and snarled and growled. He yelled and cursed and hurled threats at the locked door and when no one came, he collapsed on the cot in the farthest corner of the room.
He fought the burning in his eyes and he swallowed back the bubble that threatened to break free in his throat but finally it became too much and the tears spilled. He let his head fall heavily into his hands, his shoulders shaking till he couldn't pull breath back into his lungs. Then he let the wolf have its turn, raising its head and howling in long, mournful cries till he lost his voice.
19
The propane had run out while she was cooking eggs. Fortunately, the old cast iron skillet held its heat and she ended up with an edible breakfast anyway.
Now the heater didn't work and she'd run out of the wood that Daelan had stacked by the back door before he left.
The storms seemed to be over and the morning was bright and sunny although still cold as hell. She was going to have to dig her way back out through the snow trench and get more wood off the pile. And that meant dressing for being out in the snow.
Haley tugged on her nylon shell pants and laced the snow boots, pulling the drawstring tight around her ankles so the snow wouldn't get her feet wet and cold. Then she layered her t-shirt over her thermal and pulled on her gloves while she headed outside.
She wanted to point out to Daelan that she actually did have snow clothes. She just never seemed to be wearing them when he was around.
She grabbed the old pot that Daelan had used as a snow shovel and stepped outside just as the tan and black wolf jumped into the trench in front of her.
"SHIT!" Haley screamed as she jumped out of its way. She'd forgotten there were real wolves out here still!
She raised the old pot, ready to bring it down on the wolf's head but suddenly there was a tall man standing in front of her. His sudden appearance caught her off guard even more than the wolf jumping in front of her. The pan went clanking to the ground between them.
"Got her!" The man in front of her called out loudly over the wall of snow.
"On my way!" A disembodied voice answered from around the front of the cabin.
"Me too!" Another voice chimed in, followed by the sound of Daelan's truck door being slammed shut.
Haley stood staring at the man in front of her in silence.
Obviously they were werewolves like Daelan, but something about them made the fine hair at the back of her neck stand on end.
The man in front of her was big. Bigger than Daelan. He didn't really fit between the walls of the snow trench and he was standing sideways to keep his shoulders from touching. His hair was short and black with fine streaks of grey at the temples. He had dark stubble on his face and deep set eyes that glowed with an eerie light that was kind of like, but not at all like, the silver flashes she'd seen in Daelan's eyes.
This guy was scary.
Scary guy lunged toward and caught her easily. He flipped her around so her back was against his hard body and wrapped his arm across her chest. His arm was thick and heavy, effectively pinning her arms to her sides as he dragged her through the dug out snow till they reached the edge of the patio.
Haley tried to scream but he was holding her so tight it was hard enough to just keep breathing. She scrabbled against his forearm with her nails, hoping to get him to loosen his grip.
"She's all yours man," he muttered at the man standing below the deck,
He tossed her at the other man without warning.
To Haley she was falling, but once the man below reached up and caught her in his arms, she realized that she'd been thrown like she was a damn softball they were playing catch with.
Air filled her lungs and she screamed bloody murder, scratching at the new guy's face and pushing herself out of his arms.
Haley hit the snow on all fours and then ran for the... uhhh... shit! What the fuck do I do? There was nowhere to go! She headed around to the front of the cabin and saw Daelan's truck. It was her best hope. Even if she couldn't drive it out of here at least she could lock herself in.
She slipped a few times on icy patches where the snow had melted and frozen over again but she kept running till she made it to the driver's side door.
It was open. Thank God! She climbed into the cab, her boots slipping on the iced over step rail twice before she managed to get inside and pull the door shut. She'd whacked her bad knee on the step when her foot slipped the first time and now that the initial burst of adrenaline was subsiding the damn thing throbbed.
She locked the doors and searched for keys.
She had no idea what the men outside were doing now. Remembering the mean guy's speed and agility-- and that these men were all shifters-- she was surprised they hadn't caught her. Must be something to those adrenaline-induced super powers.
The windows of the truck were completely iced over. There was at least a foot of snow on the windshield and the side windows were whited out.
Haley checked the ignition, she checked the sun visor, the center console, the glove compartment. Maybe Daelan hasn't left his keys in the truck. Maybe she was stuck in here being circled by wolves until he got back.
If he got back. She shook her head to chase the thought away. He was coming back. He was the alpha and they would do what he told them and he was coming back for her.
And when he did, he was going to rip these guys apart.
A telltale click echoed in the cab. Haley frantically looked to the control panel at her left and saw that the lock actuators had been triggered. The truck was unlocked. She heard the sound of the door handle on the passenger side of the truck as she frantically batted at the lock button but it was too late.
"Well at least we don't have to get you in the truck." The man who had opened the passenger side door looked young. Standing there with a grin on his face wearing nothing but a pair of jeans and hunting boots. He would have been hot if he wasn't 10 years younger than her, and currently trying to kidnap her.
The driver side door opened and Mean Guy glared at her, "Ge
t in back," he said with a firm shove against her hip.
"Leave me alone!" she snapped at him, "I'm Daelan's mate! You can't touch me!"
Laughter erupted from the men surrounding the truck.
"No one's touchin' ya, just scoot."
Haley looked back at the kid on the other side of the truck.
"Look lady, we can either get this truck ready to go or we can walk across 12 miles of rough terrain," he said plainly, "we got the whole wolf thing goin' for us, but I don't think you're gonna enjoy the walk."
The man who'd caught her earlier appeared behind the kid, "Just get in the back seat and let us do our job."
Haley's voice hitched on a sob, "D-did Daelan send you?"
She didn't miss the apprehensive look that passed between the men.
"No ma'am," the kid spoke up, "not exactly."
It sounded like an apology.
"I-is he OK?" she'd almost stopped crying but now her chest constricted with new sobs.
Oddly enough, it seemed like the teenager without his shirt on in the snow was the one in charge of doing the talking. He dropped his head, staring down his his feet for a minute while he considered the answer. His blonde hair fell forward and when he looked back up at her it hung in his face and covered one eye.
"Yeah, he's OK. But we're supposed to get you back to the den ASAP."
This kid was intentionally leaving out something important. Had Daelan been hurt? She remembered his concerns about how the elders would take his news. How the pack might not be too happy for him.
When he'd talked about it, she'd pictured a board room full of old men arguing over whether or not she was going to be invited into their clubhouse.
Another push from Mr. Mean and Shovey and she suddenly realized how serious a fight against a pack of angry werewolves could get.
"Shoo!" He growled with a wave in the direction of the back seat.
"All clear! Where're the chains?" The third guy's voice called out from somewhere behind the truck.
Haley no longer had a choice, Mr. Mean and Shovey was climbing up behind the steering wheel and if she didn't move he was going to squish her. She scrambled over the center console into the back seat of the crew cab.
The young guy reached into the bed of the truck and tossed a box in the direction of the other voice. Then he reached up for the handle and swung himself into the passenger seat.
"You really think we can get back on the trail?" Mean-and-Shovey was asking as he started the truck.
"Meh, we got chains on both axles, just lock the rear, we'll be fine. I did it last year in twice this much snow," the boy laughed with a light punch to the older man's arm.
The older man scowled and revved the engine.
"Can ya pull it back about...two feet?"
Mean-and-Shovey checked the gauges and the controls for the transfer case and then pulled the gear shift into reverse. The tires slipped and then the truck moved backward. A few more minutes and the owner of the voice outside pulled open the rear door of the truck and climbed onto the bench seat beside her.
"These guys taking care of you?"
Haley nervously glanced at the back of Mean-and-Shovey's head and then to the teenager leaning out the passenger window telling the driver how close he was to the nearest tree as the truck navigated a rather clumsy multi-point turn.
"I guess," she answered.
"I'm Mingan," the man held out his hand for a shake.
"That's Ruelle," he nodded at Mean-and-Shovey, "He's an asshole when he's in a good mood, so don't take his bad manners personally. And that's just the Kid," he indicated the boy.
"I got a name, Dingus," the boy said mockingly.
"Yeah, I bet you do." Mingan swatted the back of the Kid's head with the back of his hand.
"How bout you, Lady?" the Kid sat backward in the passenger seat and grinned.
"Um, Haley." She was stuttering less. She thought that was probably a good sign.
"Like the comet?" The Kid asked enthusiastically, "Oh man, that's so cool! I got to see your comet back in the 80's," he turned back around and faced front, looking through the ice crystals on the still defrosting windshield, "I was just a pup back then, but I remember my dad showing it to me."
"You're just a pup now," Mean-and-Shovey-- Ruelle-- muttered from the driver's seat.
"Shut up, I'm like an old man in human years," the Kid said, obviously irritated at the constant jokes at his expense.
"There's no such thing as human years, you idiot," Mingan scolded, "a year is a year."
"I'm not an idiot, Dingus!"
"You're both idiots and I'm going to throw you out of the goddamn truck if you don't shut up," Ruelle sounded mad, but under the anger Haley detected a note of tension. He had the truck in the lowest gear in 4 wheel drive, she could hear the heavy duty snow chains digging into snow under the tires as they inched their way down the mountain road.
The men fell silent around her.
They passed her car or rather, a giant snow-covered shape that roughly resembled her car and just down the hill from there, Ruelle swung the wheel to the right and the truck left the slippery ledge that used to be a road.
They went over a large bump that didn't give when the truck crawled over it. Everyone was thrown sideways briefly. The Kid held his head out the window and shouted loud war-whoops and "yee-haws" with every bump and slide of the truck like he was having fun. Mingan put his hand instinctively out to brace Haley in her seat.
"How are you holding up?" he asked.
Haley gripped the handle over the side window with white knuckles and gave him a wide-eyed look of horror in answer. Her right hand was clutching the upholstery of the seat beside her and she would have been screaming but she was pretty sure she'd puke if she opened her mouth.
"That good, huh?" Mingan laughed, patting her on the knee.
The truck slipped sideways and the rear tires spun freely.
"How the fuck do you get stuck in 4 low with chains and the rear locked?" The Kid seemed genuinely surprised.
Ruelle glared at the younger man and growled.
The sound was low and menacing and even with her view blocked by the back of his seat, she could see the traces of animal making a show along his hair line.
"So you drive if you think it's so easy," Mingan cut the tension between them.
Ruelle calmed down and climbed out of the driver's seat without a word.
"Yeehaw," the Kid said almost under his breath as he crawled over the center console in the front seat and belted himself in behind the steering wheel.
Ruelle walked around the truck outside, finally opening the passenger side door and climbing in.
"Wheel's stuck back there," he glowered.
The Kid made a noise that indicating he didn't think it was that serious, he pulled the gear shift into reverse and gunned the engine. The thick snow chains dug in to whatever was under them and the truck rocketed backwards.
"Toldja," The Kid smirked at the older man as he pulled the knob back down into 1st gear. The truck started forward again.
Haley's head spun with possible scenarios. There was no way she could jump out of the truck while they were barreling down the trail. For starters, she didn't dare let go long enough to make an escape. She also had to factor in the fact that they were traveling some backwoods Jeep trail that hadn't seen traffic since Daelan had used it to come rescue her 2 days ago.
She didn't know where she was or how to get to safety.
And she was with 3 very intimidating werewolves who would have no trouble making sure she never saw civilization again if they were so inclined.
She cracked a smile as the Kid hollered a deafening "Yeehaw!" out the driver's side window as he hit a snow drift at speed. OK, so not all of them were intimidating but this kid really knew how to scare the hell out her with his driving!
20
Daelan heard the outer door open. He looked up from where he had finally passed out from exhaustion after a long nigh
t of intermittent pacing and howling.
As soon as Rek's massive frame came into view the wolf in the cell surged forward, barking and snarling as he gnawed at the bars that prevented him from tearing his former friend's throat out.
Rek gave the angry wolf a measured stare then turned back to whoever had opened the thick, steel door that separated these cells from the storage rooms under the main lodge. He shook his head and waved to the invisible person dismissively.
The heavy door closed and latched with a loud click.
Rek looked back at the wolf, "Day, you're just going to break a tooth, you know better."
"You fucking sonofabitch traitor!" Daelan spat from behind the bars, "You better shoot me through these bars like a motherfucking coward cuz if you let me out of here I'll rip your heart out."
Rek stood stoically just out of reach and calmly waited for Daelan to run out of threats.
It took longer than he'd anticipated.
The boys had known each other all their lives. Their mothers had been sisters, they had carried their pups together and given birth within hours of each other. Daelan had been with him since before his eyes had opened and when they did, Daelan had been the first thing Rek had seen.
It wasn't something he consciously remembered, just something he had always known. Daelan had always been there.
They had played together as pups, they had learned to hunt together as adolescents, they had fought side by side as men.
When Daelan's father decided to send the youth of the pack into the world of humans to learn their ways, Daelan had chosen college. Rek had chosen work. Rek had spent his years learning to farm. Mastering the art of worrying about the weather. He had traveled with the seasons, learning one crop at a time with long hours spent in the fields and orchards for little or no pay. When the harvest was in, he moved on. By the time he returned to the den he'd been nearly 50 years of tilling and planting and and growing and picking. He'd worked as a crop duster, as a truck driver, as a cowboy, and a smuggler. He brought good skills back to his pack and they had benefited greatly.
He had returned to find his friend a hollow man, however. The loss of a good Alpha had hit the pack hard, but Daelan had lost both his parents, not just his leader.