Chapter Nineteen
Allan had done something to her, that was how he’d gotten Hannah into his SUV again, driving even farther away from her apartment. He’d shown her the pictures of the wolves. Beautiful pictures that captured the animals—four in total—running, hunting, even playing, albeit with fangs and claws. She’d been enthralled, eyes locked as he flipped from one photo to the next, listening as he described to her the impossible truth. At least, what he believed was true.
“Have you ever wondered why you can’t get a hold of him during the day? That’s when he and his pack—the band—are wolves, Hannah. That’s when they grow fangs and fur, when they attack and kill.”
She’d snapped her gaze to meet his, ready to leave the table, walk out on this crazy man. “Mayhem isn’t dangerous!” Why had she said that? Why hadn’t she said, “Mayhem isn’t a werewolf!” She frowned. Allan believed what he was saying—that much was clear.
“Oh no?” He pushed his phone toward her, tapped the screen to show a video loaded there. A still shot in a blur. “Watch this.”
He’d tapped it again and Hannah had watched as a scene of fantasy world proportions played out right before her eyes. It had been daylight, the black wolf was there, the others coming into the shot shortly after, the camera panning all four. All at the edge of a forest, thick trees hiding them from view for a moment before they came out in the open on an expanse of lawn. As the light faded, the sun presumably sinking below the horizon, the impossible happened. In a dancing array of light, sparkling like small fireworks almost, the wolves transformed into men. Beast to human. Big black wolf to Mayhem.
She’d wanted to say it was a trick—that there was no way—but instead, she’d taken the phone from Allan’s hand and hit play again.
“Mayhem is dangerous, especially to you,” he’d said.
He’d whispered some things to her, coaxing her to come with him, convinced her with a touch of his hand on hers, stroking her like a cat. Her stunned brain didn’t process his words as much as the feeling that came with them. Allan was offering her safety, protection and answers—things that she suddenly craved above all else.
She gave her head a shake, yanking her mind back to her present predicament. In an SUV, no control over where she was headed, no clue, for that matter, where she was going. “Where are you taking me?”
Allan glanced at her briefly, barely taking his eyes off the road ahead. “To my home. A compound designed to protect the Huntresses, to protect you.”
She balked at him, confusion banging her brain, giving her a massive headache. “I don’t understand a word that you’re saying.”
“Remember when I told you that I was part of a group, The Order of the Wolf?”
She gave a tight nod. My people is what he had said. The same words that Mayhem had used to describe where he’d come from. Strange words she somehow knew meant different things to each man.
“What you don’t know is that you are a very important person to my group. A vital member of the Order.”
“Me?” she croaked, raising a hand to her throat.
“Yes, you were born a Huntress, a wolf slayer. Destined to kill the beasts that I showed you in that video.”
“I’m not a killer!” she gasped, her mind reeling. What was he saying, that she was destined to kill Mayhem? That thought alone made tears burn her eyes. “This is insane.”
“You grew up outside of the Order, an unfortunate reality of our times. We’ve been finding our wayward Huntresses, bringing them into the fold where they belong. You are destined to be part of our group, to destroy the dangerous beast, to protect humanity.”
“I am not a killer! I have no ability to do what you are saying!” She needed to get out of the truck, to get away from this man. To find Mayhem…
He pulled the truck to the side of the road and put it in park, turned and touched her hand a second after they’d come to a stop. “Hannah, I know that this is difficult for you to understand, for you to accept, but trust me when I say I am not joking with you. I am not lying to you.”
Looking into his eyes felt right all of a sudden, her confusion slipping beyond her reach, acceptance taking its place. She struggled to hold onto her concerns, fighting to maintain her distance. Something strange was going on here. “I get that you believe what you’re saying,” she started, her thoughts muddled, warring with conflicting feelings. Allan was safety, protection, love? She pulled her hand away from his, raised it to her forehead. “None of this makes any sense.”
“Mayhem is a wolf. He and his band are a pack. They are dangerous, have killed Hunters in cold blood with little provocation.” His eyes flicked away from her when he said that, and she knew that there was more to the story. In that moment, he wasn’t being honest. Her doubts returned.
“Mayhem is a wolf,” she repeated, barely believing her own words. “But he’s not dangerous to me, I don’t believe that.”
When Allan looked at her again, she felt the snap of rebellion disappear at once. “That may be true—Mayhem may not harm you himself. But being with him endangers you. If you side with him, you are against us, which will put your life in grave danger. Mayhem is a young wolf, barely able to control his beast, barely able to use his powers to protect you. Being with him, on the side of the wolf, will mean you become the enemy to the Order, to humanity. Is that what you want?”
Hannah couldn’t even comprehend what this man was telling her—not really—only that looking into his eyes made her feel less lost. “You’re telling me that I have to choose between the Order and Mayhem?” How did I get to this place? “This is surreal, I can’t…”
Allan laid his hand on hers again, leaning forward so that his face was close to hers, gaze flicking from her lips to her eyes. “You belong with me just as much as you belong with him. We are destined to be together as well, you know.” He brushed his fingers over her cheek. “I’m asking you to give us a chance, Hannah. Give me the chance to prove myself to you. I have so much to give you.”
His words, his touch, confused her more. She’d met this man hours ago, and just as it had been with Mayhem, she felt like she was connected to him somehow. “None of this makes any sense,” she whispered as she moved back a little, resisting his thrall.
“I have to take you to the Order,” he said as he pulled away. The elastic band of control he’d had over her snapped when he took his touch from her, his gaze now on the road ahead.
“Whether I like it or not?” she asked.
“I’ve been tracking Mayhem and his pack for years, monitoring their movements, leaving them alone until they began stumbling on their Huntresses. That’s when things started getting bad. People started dying.”
“Humans?”
Allan cleared his throat. “No, Hunters.” He sighed as he pulled his cell from his pocket. “And then he found you, which is when I found you as well. His mate, my Huntress. I can prove the reality of this to you, Hannah. So yes, whether you like it or not, I will show you the danger that you are in if you side with the wolves.” He called someone, phone to his ear, eyes on the road as he navigated back into traffic. “We’re coming. Be ready for us.”
It took them a long time to get to the compound that Allan spoke of. They drove all afternoon, stopping for a hasty dinner before continuing. She thought about running but the idea came and went like a flash. She was beyond exhausted and every time he touched her, even just a small gesture, like his hand on her arm, she couldn’t help feeling like running would be the most dangerous thing she could possibly do. It was weird and felt unreal, but she couldn’t explain it any more than she could explain what she’d seen on that video.
So she gotten back into the SUV and had spent the rest of the drive dozing, her slumber fitful as she dreamt of Mayhem, knowing that by now he’d have guessed she wasn’t on that flight, wondering if he was worried about her. She discreetly checked he
r phone hours before only to find that the battery had died. By the time they made it to their destination, it was the early morning, not long before dawn.
“This is Wolves’ Bane, Hannah, primary headquarters of the Order.”
Hannah gaped at the grand mansion. With its impressive wings buffeting each side, it rivaled many of the mansions she’d admired from afar having grown up in California.
As Allan pulled the SUV around the circular drive, Hannah noticed a small grouping of people gathered off to one side of the massive lawn. There were men she noted. Big, muscular men. She squinted into the limited light, the moon crescent doing little to help her distinguish more of their features.
“The Hunters await.” Allan stopped the truck and placed a hand on her knee. “I have something to show you.”
She got out of the truck reluctantly, Allan at her side within moments of her feet hitting the ground. She was wary, not wanting to leave the safety of the truck, her senses pinging that something was not quite safe. As soon as Allan laid his arm on her shoulders, though, she felt a calming sense of relief cascade over her. He would protect her—that much she knew simply by his touch. He led her to the group of men, which parted as they neared, revealing the figure of a lone woman.
“Hannah,” the woman said, her red hair, bright despite the limited light, hung in cascading waves past her shoulders. “So happy to have you here. My name is Kelly.” She extended a hand.
Hannah stared at it for a few seconds, her brain misfiring. Kelly? She seemed so normal, so nice. “I don’t understand what’s going on.” She’d imagined this place would be like a cult, even picturing black capes and hoods, chanting, weirdness.
Kelly smiled, lowered her hand. “I know, sweetie, but I think you will understand very soon.”
Allan nudged her forward and the group parted further, revealing an open span of lawn. “What’s the status?”
“The team has tracked a lone wolf, are herding it this way.” Kelly motioned to the trees. “We’ve opened the wards just there. Look to the west.”
Hannah’s nerves prickled at those words. “Lone wolf?” Wards? What did that mean?
Kelly glanced toward her, the smile still there, warm, meant to be comforting. “Allan has told you a bit about the Order, that you are a Huntress, that your destiny is entwined with two men. One a Hunter, one a beast.”
“Yes.”
“You carry the DNA of an ancient line of female warriors, strong women whose purpose is to protect humanity from the beasts. For years, near the beginning, the Huntresses were cherished, protected, raised within the Order, but now they are scattered, growing up without knowing their destined role. The beasts have been hunting us, killing the Huntresses before they can come fully into their powers.”
Hannah stared at Kelly feeling like this had to be the biggest prank on record. Where were the cameras? “Powers?”
“Have you ever noticed that you elicit certain emotions from others? That your mood sometimes impacts others to feel the same thing?” Kelly asked expectantly.
Dani said that to her all the time that when Hannah was down, she couldn’t help feeling down too, even if they weren’t together. Hannah frowned. You make me feel things. Strong, powerful things, Mayhem had said to her. “I guess, maybe, I mean, not that I noticed until…”
“Until you met Mayhem?” Kelly nodded. “That happens. Sometimes our powers are dormant until we are bonded. Sometimes they trickle out through our lives without us really understanding what is going on. The point is, what you’re feeling, what you experienced with Mayhem is your power, one that you will come to fully realize once you bond with your Hunter.”
Hannah shook her head. “You know how fantastical this all is right? How can I believe—?”
Her words were cut off by a roar, a sound that sent a tremor of fear from her scalp to her toes. She snapped her gaze to the tree line that surrounded the house, noticing for the first time that the place seemed immersed by it.
“He’s coming,” Allan said, his words a whisper in her ear that made tears pop to her eyes.
“Hannah, the only way you’re going to understand is if you see things for yourself.” Kelly reached over and squeezed her hand, then nudged her to walk at her side, toward the tree line, toward that roar. “What you need to remember is that you have the power to end this. You and I alone can protect everyone here from the beast.”
Hannah opened her mouth to argue, to question, to refuse…and then she saw movement at the trees, something break out, running for moments on all fours then up on two legs. It let loose another roar, huge, monstrous, head to the sky, with glowing eyes and massive fangs.
She froze as those eyes locked on her, seeming to pull her out of the crowd. A shout from the trees had the beast glancing over its shoulder, as a group of huge men came rushing from the forest, weapons raised. The beast whipped its head around, locked its wide, angry looking eyes on Hannah. She glanced around her and realized she was no longer surrounded by the group. Left to stand on her own as this thing zeroed in, turned and came at her on all fours, running full tilt with a growl that ripped a scream from her throat.
Thirty feet, twenty, speed the likes of which Hannah could barely understand. Something cold and heavy slipped into her palm. She tore her gaze away from the terrible beast to find a huge knife there. The beast roared again, the thunder of its approach rattling through Hannah’s body. She snapped her eyes up, dread soaking through her as she realized she was about to die.
The monster was bearing down on her, fangs gleaming, snarling as it ran. It appeared to be enraged and solely focused on her. Why she couldn’t understand—not that there was any way logic would work at that moment anyway. Less than ten feet separated her from it, closing fast.
She wanted to run, her legs trembling, but suddenly Allan was just behind her, his hand coming to her back, giving her a bizarre sense of calm in the face of imminent death. And as the beast neared, barreling toward her like a truck, she made a decision. She lifted her hand, the one that held the knife, and threw it just as she’d seen people do on TV, expecting that it would flip end over end and impale itself in the creature, stopping it dead in its tracks. Saving herself and everyone else.
The knife flew, right past the beast without even glancing it. The monster paid it no heed, the thunder of its feet hitting the ground made her want to turn and run. But she couldn’t because Allan was right there, calm, pressing her forward.
“Do something!” she screamed over her shoulder, panic fighting to seize her, to make her run.
They let the werewolf take a swipe at her—that was how close it got. It took one shot, trying to rip her throat open and then it was down, spurting blood everywhere, a knife sticking out of its chest. It writhed and screamed, tearing at the knife but unable to pull it free. Kelly stepped forward, her gaze locked on Hannah as she stomped her foot on the beast’s neck, effectively holding it down.
“Do you understand now, Hannah?” Kelly was so calm, her voice holding no hint of fear. “These beasts are deadly. They need to die.” She spun down so fast, Hannah had a hard time seeing what was happening. Kelly yanked the knife from the beast and then impaled it again, this time angling it so that it went in almost sideways, twisting as she punched it down to the hilt.
The animal stopped moving. Kelly let go of the knife and straightened. “With some training, you will be able to kill the wolves, rid the world of this menace.”
Hannah tried to take a step back, was reminded that Allan was there and moved away, needed to distance herself from his touch as her brain worked through the impossible.
“That thing almost killed me!” Hannah said as fear finally coursed through her. “You let it come at me!”
“You threw the knife, Hannah,” Kelly said with a smile. “You know what that means?”
Hannah looked at her with a frown. “Huh?”
“My instinct? Wouldn’t throwing the knife be the logical thing to do?” Hannah shook her head. “Besides, I missed.”
“Yes.” Kelly chuckled. “But I assure you, with a little bit of training, you won’t miss again. And logic or not, most people would have run, despite the impossible odds. Trust me, you are destined to be a Huntress, your instinct knows it and so will you, just as soon as you bond with your Hunter.”
Hannah looked down at the dead beast, then looked up at Kelly, then the others standing around, and finally at Allan. She didn’t want him touching her again. Every time he did, she lost sight of what was really going on, that she was surrounded by a group of psychopaths who seemingly were intent on killing her, or at least making her go insane.
She took another step back, two more after that, raising her hands slowly as she shook her head. “There is no way this is real.” And then she turned and ran.
Chapter Twenty
“If you want your mate, you’ll do this for me.” The Huntress wiped at her cheek again, wincing as her fingers passed over Raven’s claw marks. “I know where to find her.”
“I don’t trust this bitch,” Raven growled as he paced to the side, fists clenched, claws still visible.
“Neither do I.” Mayhem glared at the confounding woman. “You’d vow to act against your Hunters? You’d walk me in there, knowing that I’d kill more?”
“They have no use for a Huntress with waning powers.” She scoffed. “So I have no use for them.”
He didn’t believe her, not one bit. From what he’d learned about the Order, the Hunters were so repentant of their violent history against the Huntresses that they cherished the women above anything else. It didn’t make sense that they would let one go, with or without her powers. She could still kill a beast; she was born with that ability. No, there was something more to this story.
Mayhem: The Order of the Wolf, Book 5 Page 10