He looked uncertain now, but he still didn’t sheath his sword. “It’s not for you to decide. This is Hound business. Give me the girl and we’ll take her to Halbread. He’ll determine what we do with it.”
I snorted. Over my dead body.
“Her. She’s a her. And I’m taking her back. If we’re lucky, I’ll come back alive and they accept my version of events. If I’m not…” I shrugged my shoulders. “I would hug your loved ones just in case.”
“They wouldn’t attack us. We have the numbers and they know it. They won’t criple themselves over one stupid kid,” Niles interjected.
I was shaking my head before he even finished. “You’re an idiot. Do you know nothing of the Pack that lives beside you? They will go to war against ten times your numbers if it means retribution for one of their own. They don’t cut their losses. They don’t value one life over another. She is a child. Their child. She doesn’t just have one set of parents. She has the entire fucking Pack. She is every one of their daughters. Their sisters. Shifters cherish their children above all. If I hadn’t come by when I did—” I hissed out a breath. “None of you would have had the chance to see tomorrow.”
“What’s going on?” Halbread O’Herra came striding forward.
I cursed and shifted the girl in my grip while inching the zipper back up to hide most of her face. Her eyes were closed now, exhaustion taking over. It took a lot of energy to shift back and forth and she was so young. I doubted she’d be able to keep her eyes open even if she’d wanted to.
A few steps behind Halbread I spotted Alton and his wife Eleanor. As they drew up to our group, all eyes went to me.
“Well, anyone want to explain what you’re all shouting about over here?” he asked again.
I glowered at the men around me. I was out numbered and I didn’t have a weapon on me.
I took a step back toward the tree line. Then another.
“And where the fuck do you think yer going?” Halbread asked, eyeing the large misshapen shape beneath my coat.
“We found a wolf. I was gonna bring it to you, but Red took the damn thing from me.”
I shot Rook a scathing glare and turned my attention to Alton. “If you harm a shifter pup, it will be war. People will die. Your wife could die. You have to let me take her back.”
Alton turned to his wife, a disbelieving scowl on his face. “If you have a wolf, give it here.”
I shook my head and took another step away, the men now inching closer with each step I took. “I can’t do that.”
“Reddington, I hired you to—”
“To find the shapeshifter den,” I cut in. “And I’m working on that. But I’m not going to let you kill a fucking kid. She’s just a kid.”
Alton didn’t look convinced, and Halbread had an evil glint in his eye. I couldn’t let him get his hands on her. I turned to Eleanor. She and Alton had children. Two, if I remembered right. I looked her straight in the eye and asked, “Would you forgive your husband for killing an innocent child?”
She gasped and turned to her husband.
“Hey. That’s not—”
I tugged at the zipper of my coat until the pup’s head and shoulders were out. “Eleanor, she’s a little girl. Do you think I should hand her over to these men? To your husband?”
Her eyes widened, and she stepped forward. I let her move closer, and when she reached a hand out to brush over the girl’s raven hair, I held my breath.
“She’s a little girl. They’ll kill her when she’s done nothing wrong.”
She bit her lower lip and looked over her shoulder at her husband. Alton looked torn. He wanted the wolf. I knew he did. Halbread standing beside him with murder on his face wasn’t helping. But Eleanor was no stepford wife. I was banking on her refusing to let her husband take the girl and at the very least, creating enough of a diversion for me to get away.
“Alton, we can’t hurt her. She’s a child.”
“Eleanor, you don’t know what you’re asking.” Indecision stamped across his face. “One of our own men was injured. We can’t ignore that.”
“The beast will grow up and then what? What if it attacked one of your boys? One of your future grandchildren?” Halbread added.
This was getting out of hand. I needed to get the hell out of here. “You said you were open to peace with the wolves,” I reminded Alton. “This right here, this little girl is your way to get there.”
Halbread snorted. “You can’t reason with the wolves. They’re fecking animals.”
I shook my head and ignored him, focusing on Alton. “Let me take the girl back to her Pack. This is your olive branch. This is a way to protect your people. They won’t forget what you’ve done here. I’ll explain how the men came upon her. That it was all an accident. How she wasn’t harmed and how in a show of good faith you wanted her returned safe and sound.”
“You can talk to the wolves?” Eleanor asked.
I nodded. “I can and I already have. I’ve been speaking with the Alpha’s daughter. They want the hostilities to end as badly as you all do. Returning her can help with that.”
Halbread and the others didn’t look convinced, but Alton was thinking about it. I sent a pleading look Roland’s way. I needed him to back me up on this. Alton was convinced he needed to take out the wolves to secure his position, but there was another way. A better way.
“I think we should return the girl,” Roland added, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “We don’t want a war with the wolves and I don’t think I could live with myself if we…” he trailed off and looked away.
“You can’t be serious?” Rook shouted. “It’s a fucking animal.”
“You will calm down right this instance young man and watch your tongue,” Eleanor said. Her lips pressed into a thin line and her shoulders pressed back.
Rook wilted under her glare but still managed to shoot me a withering look.
I gave her an appreciative smile that she returned.
“Very well,” Alton said with a long-suffering sigh. “Return the girl. But this better not be for nothing,” he warned.
I inclined my head in thanks and turned to leave when Halbread called out, “I’m coming with you.”
“Hell no, you’re not.”
He puffed out his chest and strode toward me. “I said, I’m coming with you. You got a problem with that?”
“Yeah. I do. You’re a ticking time bomb. If I take you with me when I return the girl, neither one of us will make it out alive. I’m not getting myself killed for your fucking ego.”
Halbread’s face flushed a bright shade of red. “I don’t trust you.” He turned to Alton. “How do we know he won’t sell us out and spin some different tale? He’s already showing signs of siding with the beasts. He can’t be trusted.”
Alton was nodding his head.
I gritted my teeth. “If you send him with me, it’s suicide.”
“Take Roland then.”
Roland visibly paled, but nodded and stepped forward.
“You’re sure?” I asked him. “You can’t take any weapons with you.”
If I thought he was pale before, he was ghostly now. “Why not?”
“You’re going to have to trust me on this one. No weapons. We go in. We deliver the girl and we get out. I trust you to keep a level head but I also can’t take any chances.”
Roland considered it before consenting and stripping his axes off and handing them to Niles and Rook. “Alright. Let’s get this over with.”
Lindy
We scourged the forest searching high and low. Half of our party remained human, the others shifting to wolf. Blain, Aiyana’s father was beside himself. He’d lost her mother in childbirth. He couldn’t lose her, too. His wolf wouldn’t survive the loss.
In groups of two and three and we spread out, widening our search. Aiyana was only three. She couldn’t have gone far.
“Aiyana!”
“Aiyana!”
We shouted for her. Those i
n wolf form howled for her.
The sun was setting and night would be upon us soon. Evenings in Lethbridge often hit freezing temperatures. Already we were getting smatterings of snow flurries followed by cold rains. We were in that in between time with the seasons where mother nature was still trying to make up her mind. Aiyana wouldn’t survive a night alone in the elements. We had to find her.
A howl unlike the others rent the air. It was a warning and every hair on the back of my neck rose. Hunters were in the woods.
A fresh wave of dread crashed over me. Embry ran up beside me, his face pinched in concern. “Humans are in the woods. Do you think… ?”
“No.” I shook my head vehemently. They wouldn’t have come this far in the woods. They couldn’t have her.
Another howl and we were running. Dammit. “I know you don’t like killing them—”
“Let me handle this,” I ground out, pushing myself to go faster. He was right. I didn’t like killing the humans. I didn’t want to see them as my enemy. But if they had Aiyana… if they’d hurt her…
Trees blurred around me as I raced toward the wolf who’d cried out his warning. What I found had me skidding to a stop and dread settling deep in my stomach.
“Red?”
Embry cut me a surprised look at my recognition of the human who stood before us. I’d been less than two hours since we’d parted. Had he even left the woods? What was he still doing here?
Beside him was another man I recognized, and I wasn’t the only one. He’d been the one to injure Embry.
A snarl curled Embry’s lip as he stepped forward intending to do God only knew what. I reached out, wrapping a hand around his bicep. “Don’t,” I cautioned.
He sent me a sharp glance but stepped back. I released the breath I’d been holding, surprised that Embry had listened for once.
“We’re not here to cause trouble,” Red said, unzipping his jacket and exposing what was hidden beneath.
I sucked in a breath as Aiyana’s raven colored hair spilled out.
“What did you do to her?” Embry roared. If it weren’t for my grip on his arm, he would have lunged forward and ripped into Red. As it was, I was barely able to keep him back.
The two other wolves, Jacob and Yuli—who’d discovered Red and his companion—growled and whined beside us, unsure of how to respond when Embry clearly wanted to attack and I was doing everything I could to keep him from doing that.
“No one attacks. We need answers,” I bit out the command. Jacob and Yuli both lowered their eyes, consenting to my orders. Embry’s face was murderous, but he wasn’t pulling on my hold any longer, so I released him and faced the two humans in front of us. Anger bubbled up inside of me, but I shoved it down. There had to be an explanation.
“Why do you have one of our pups?” I asked, my gaze focused solely on Red.
He came forward, his steps cautious as he flicked glances at the others, ensuring everyone stayed put. “She wandered to the treeline leading to town. She isn’t hurt. As soon as I realized she was one of yours, I headed back into the forest to find you and return her.”
I took a deep breath, watching Embry do the same as we both searched for a lie. I didn’t find one, but in taking that breath, I realized something else and cursed, ignoring Red’s confused look.
He hadn’t showered and my scent was strong on him. This isn’t going to end well.
Embry’s lip curled, and I held my breath. “Jacob, Yuli, head back to the Den. Let the others know we found our pup and will be back soon. Call off the search.”
With quick glances my way for confirmation, they waited for my nod and headed off to do as Embry said.
When they were gone and out of earshot, Embry whirled on me, his face a mix of hurt and fury. His amber eyes met mine, and I flinched back at the look of utter devastation in them. “Do you want to explain why your scent is all over him?” His words were whispered, just loud enough for me to hear, but he may as well have shouted.
Red cast me a worried look and took another step closer. Embry stiffened and looked back over his shoulder at Red, his skin rippling with the urge to shift. Dammit.
I shook my head at Red, telling him with my eyes to stay back and stepped forward, closer to Embry until the heat from his body seeped into mine. I reached up and turned his face back toward me. “Now isn’t the time. We need to focus on Aiyana.” My eyes pleaded with him to understand. To know I’d never meant to hurt him. His nostrils flared and gold flecks filled his eyes, letting me know his wolf was riding shotgun, but he nodded and with his back still to Red, strode further into the forest. He wouldn’t go far. Embry might be angry and hurt, but he would never leave me alone with two humans.
I released a relieved sigh. “Thank you,” I said, stepping forward to take Aiyana from Red’s arms. I pulled her bare sleeping body from the inside of his coat and hugged her tight.
“She’s just sleeping.” Stripping off his jacket, he draped it over her and I helped tuck it around her small body, shifting her weight in my arms. Red stroked her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen over her face. His tenderness surprised me. But Red often surprised me with his compassion and understanding for my kind.
I flicked a glance to the other man that accompanied Red. He’d stayed quiet this whole time, and I wondered what his role in all of this had been.“I’m Lindy,” I offered in way of greeting.
“Roland,” he grunted.
“Roland.” I inclined my head in acknowledgment. “Thank you for returning our pup. She was missed and we’ve been very worried. You have my Pack’s gratitude.”
He nodded, rubbing a hand over his thick beard. He shifted his weight from side to side, his eyes unable to meet mine.
Suspicion wormed through me. “How did you happen across her?” I asked, keeping my eyes on him, though I didn’t miss the worried glance Red sent his way.
“Err…” he stammered. “It was like Red said.” A slight shift in his scent. Not a lie, but not the truth either.
“Exactly like he said?” I inquired.
He flicked his gaze between Red and I. Uncertainty clear on his face.
“Ah. I thought as much.” I pressed my lips into a tight line. There was nothing to be done now. Not while I still held Aiyana. “Did she experience any trauma?” I asked, this time directing my question to Red.
He sighed and ran a hand over his short, cropped hair, his dark skin made even darker in the fading light. “I don’t know how to answer that.”
A growl worked its way up my throat as sudden anger rose inside of me. Roland took a step back, his hands moving for weapons he didn’t carry while Red took a step forward, his hands lifted in supplication. “She is a child,” I bit out. “We would never harm one of yours.”
“I know. She was in her wolf skin when they found her. I came upon them after only a few minutes. They didn’t have her long. I looked her over. There are no injuries.”
I hissed out a breath. “If you found her as a wolf, why is she in her human skin now?”
Red’s face dropped, and he turned to look at Roland. An apology evident in his eyes before he turned back to me. “I need your word that you’ll let him leave these woods alive.”
I bared my teeth. “Does he deserve to?” I asked.
“Lindy, they don’t know better. You know that. They found a wolf and yes, they antagonized her. They frightened her. But she’s not hurt.”
I bit my lip and when Red stepped closer, placing one hand on my hip and the other under my chin, I met his hazel colored eyes.
“Please.”
I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted blood. I didn’t want to promise him anything, but that look on his face, the apology in his eyes... In that moment, I couldn’t deny him anything. “Fine. You have my word that he’ll leave these woods alive. But I will not promise him safety if he enters our forest again. Not until I’ve heard what you have to say.”
Red nodded, and I watched from the corner
of my eye as Roland visibly relaxed.
“He’s a good man. Most of the townsmen are.”
I waited.
Red took a step back and shoved his hands into his pockets as he huffed out a breath. “When I found her, I asked her to shift.”
“Why?”
He took a deep breath as if bracing himself. “Because it’s easier for a man to kill an animal without remorse. As a girl, I had a better chance of protecting her. Of showing the men that she was just a child. Not an animal. Not a one-day monster.”
I heard Embry’s growl behind me, but still didn’t see him, so I called him forward. He emerged from the trees, anger radiating off of him in thick waves. I handed Aiyana to him and he carefully pulled her into his arms, his lip curling in distaste at the sight of Red’s leather jacket.
“We are not the monsters. You are,” he said.
With Aiyana safely passed off, I stormed toward Roland, my fists clenched at my side. “If Red wasn’t there, what would your people have done to her?”
“I… I dun… I don’t know.” He stumbled back, and I advanced on him again before Red came up behind me, his hand on my arm. Not that he could truly hold me back. I ripped free from his grasp and ignored his pleas to calm down.
“What is wrong with you? She is a child for godsake. If he hadn’t been there, would she have been left alive? Would you have terrorized her more than you probably already have? She’s not even three yet!” I shouted into his face, watching as shame colored his expression.
“We didn’t know you were—”
“That we were people too?” I cut him off. “That we had feelings and loved our children and would do anything and everything in our power to protect them? You think so little of us. You think we’re a Pack of monsters when you’re the true villains.” I spun away from him in disgust and marched over to Embry’s side.
“Lindy. Stop. We need to—”
“No. We don’t need to do anything. You returned her. You have my thanks for that. But you’re protecting men who would have killed her. It might be harder for them to hurt her when she looks like a little girl but can you say, definitely, that they wouldn’t have? That if she’d stumbled into their arms on two legs and claimed to be one of ours that they still wouldn’t have harmed her?”
Trouble with Wolves: An urban fantasy romance novel (Magic and Bone Book 1) Page 8