She could see her breath coming out in heaps of mist around her cheeks as she continued to run and pant. She could also just barely taste the metallic tinge of blood in her mouth as the cold air made the back of her throat raw. Her exhaustion made her wonder if it was the wolf denying her energy as a way of forcing her to face the predators she was running from.
It felt like she had been running for hours before she finally began to slow down and stumble to a stop. It was hard to hear anything else over her heavy panting.
She came to a dead end. A sheer rock face blocked her way, towering above her with no visible handholds to help her get up to the top. She looked to both her left and right, but there seemed no end to it and no easy way to get around.
Katey closed her mouth and tried to listen for any sign of her pursuers. At first, she could only hear the sounds of the forest. Night birds were twittering in the trees and she could hear other animals in the distance that she didn’t identify as the loups-garous. If the animals were still around, perhaps that meant they weren’t close by.
She thought she was safe. Her knees wobbled and buckled underneath her, dropping into the freshly fallen snow and she resumed her attempt to catch her breath, tears of fear streaming down her cheeks that froze into tiny ice crystals.
Katey was furious with herself for not being able to change in time. She hated herself for thinking that she would ever belong in this kind of world. She thought of how Logan would react to all of this, knowing that she couldn’t change. He would be heartbroken and her chest ached at the thought of anyone being disappointed in her. New hot tears brimmed at her eyelids. She wanted to belong with them so badly.
Wishing the cold would devour her, she cried into the snow, ignoring the slowly disintegrating pieces of her heart. She would have rather died than face Logan and the others the next morning and their disapproving gazes. She would have preferred a slow, numbing death in this artic wasteland than hear them say “We thought so. We knew all along she wouldn’t really change. What a waste of time.”
Suddenly, another howl broke through the air. Katey shot her head up and looked behind her from where the howl rang out. It was Logan, howling for her again, she knew it. This time, she bit her chapped lips together to resist the urge to answer his call. Instead, she let it spur her into action, knowing that they were gaining on her. Death would have been welcome, but she didn’t want Logan to blame himself for the rest of eternity if he was the one to take her life.
Katey pushed herself up and looked around for any other ways she could go. If she followed the rock face, she might lose much more time and probably just get caught a lot quicker than if she went forward. She judged the size of the cliff and trotted back a couple of spaces, remembering her training lesson on jumping. It was a long shot to think that she would make the ledge, but she had to try.
She started at a run toward the rock and jumped as high as she could, but only made it about half way up the side. Her thick loup-garou nails scratched and raked at the stone for a good hold as she slid down to the bottom, but she only managed to break a couple of them and rip her jeans at the knees.
Katey glanced around again and saw a tree near the rock face that had just enough branches for her to climb up. She could hear the pack’s grunting and paws crunching against the snow, heading straight for her. She was running out of time.
Katey pounced onto the bark and shimmied up the first branch like Darren had taught her, hauling herself up to climb to the next one. The bark rubbed and scratched against her exposed palms and tore her blouse a bit, but she kept climbing as high as she could, fear pushing her to keep going until she ran out of branches.
Then, the tree began to shake and shudder. A loup-garou rammed his body into the tree trunk again as claws dug into the wood. Menacing growls rumbled from below and she knew that they had found her.
Katey didn’t dare look at her attackers, but glanced toward the rock face that was about even with the ledge. It was now or never. She balanced herself on the limb and leapt toward the rock face.
Half of her body hit the ledge and rock below, while the other half was above. She kicked her legs wildly in an attempt to help herself up. Her elbows were deep in the snow that covered the ledge as she began to haul herself up with only her upper body strength. Ahead of Katey, she saw a bit of a thick root sticking out from the ground. She reached over to grab it.
Her fingertips just barely touched the top of the root before she could feel the icy ground sliding her supportive elbow back over the rocky edge. She tried to catch the ledge again as she slid past it, but to no avail.
Katey fell to the bottom of the cliff, her body half buried in the snow. All around her, she could hear growls and snapping of massive jaws. Katey raised her eyes for the first time to meet the loups-garous that were supposed to be her new family, her heart about to explode with fear.
They were everything she had imagined. They looked wolf-like, covered in fur with the long ears and muzzles, mouth full of sharp teeth and glaring eyes of all different colors, not just gold. But their body structure was much more human-like with a chest, abs, hips, arms and shoulders like a human. The only exception was that they were massive, towering beasts – twice the size of a normal man - and the bone structure of their hind legs resembled that of the canine species.
The loups-garous stood on all fours approaching her with hunger and curiosity blazing in their eyes. Just on all fours, they were taller than Katey was standing. Their hands had the full skeletal form of a human hand with the addition of razor sharp claws at the tips and rough pads along the palm and underside of their fingers. Their feet were the same, but only featured pads on the balls of their feet that they walked upon.
They all ranged in color from black to brown, red, blonde, a few silvers, and multi-colored pelts gleamed in the moonlight. They were stunning creatures and if she had the luxury of being awestruck by them, Katey would have.
She wondered which one was Logan, but she didn’t have to look far. The loup-garou right in front of her had Logan’s familiar, striking blue eyes and pelt that was black along the top of his body, but had a tannish blonde coat along his bottom muzzle and his entire underside. Her pack bond confirmed that this was her lover, the man she had grown so attached to over the last few weeks. The man who walked away and stole her breath with him. He was beautiful, even as a monster.
Logan led the pack as they approached, baring his pearly white fangs at Katey and face wrinkled into a snarl as he padded closer. Katey scrambled to back herself up against the rock face, knowing this was the end. The one who made her would be the one to kill her.
If only she could change right now and save herself, then they would see that she wasn’t prey, but one of them. However, the wolf inside was dormant and Katey was too stricken with horror to take the time to coax her out. She stared into the blue eyes of the man that she adored, wishing there was some way to make him see, to make him remember who it was he was growling at.
As he padded forward, suddenly, he stopped and stared at her. There was a hint of something human in his eyes, but it was fleeting. His lips lowered over his teeth and he lowered his head further to the ground, his ears erect and shoulders tense, ready to pounce.
Katey shook her head slowly, as if it would somehow communicate with him. If she knew how to speak through her bond, she would have tried that. She would have tried everything from sign language to smoke signals if it meant he would understand her.
From out of nowhere, three massive bodies of silver and gray fur blocked her vision. Their hind ends revealed that loups-garous did indeed have tails. The loups-garous stood up on their hind legs, looming over the hunting party. They let out booming roars at her assailants and the pack cowered in their presence, slinking back as the wolves let forth their waves of dominance. Even Katey pressed herself against the solid rock behind her.
Some took little steps backwards with their tails between their legs and ears folded back against their hea
ds. Some didn’t move, but only eyed Katey.
Logan snapped at one of the silver loups-garous and growled back, his ears flattened against his head and crouched low, but not in a submissive stance that she was used to seeing. This was a challenge.
The silver one he’d snapped at came on top of him and bit at his neck to put him back in line. Katey stared in shock and horror at the scene. She noticed the eyes of the silver one was a friendly and deep brown that she recognized as Darren. The other must have been John, but she couldn’t identify the third that had darker distinctive markings in his fur.
Logan writhed under Darren’s jaws and yelped for mercy. The alpha released him and lowered himself onto all fours, snarling at his packmate. How she wished she could have understood what they were saying, if their growls and yips said anything in particular.
What was certain was that the two alphas had claimed her under their protection and none were foolhardy enough to challenge their authority.
The clearing was silent besides the occasional panting and grunting among the others as they paced around the area, their eyes trained on Katey with careful vigilance. Some smaller, darker loups-garous seemed to have completely forgotten about the hunt and pounced upon the older wolves in play.
Katey sunk down into the snow, relieved and exhausted. Logan padded off to the side with his tail between his legs to retreat away from his intended prey, but she could feel his eyes watching her every movement.
Darren turned back around to Katey and gently nudged his head against hers. To have such an immense creature so close to her was unsettling at first, but there was something familiar in their presence that she couldn’t explain.
“Thank you,” Katey whispered breathlessly to Darren and John.
The third loup-garou turned to regard her with dark blue eyes. For a moment, she suspected it to be Noah. The longer she stared, the more convinced she became. He sulked away and nipped at a few loups-garous that were venturing too close into her space – mostly out of curiosity than in search for a meal.
Darren gave a guttural grunt in Logan’s direction. Katey looked up and watched as her fiancé timidly shuffled through the snow to where they were sitting. He kept a safe distance both from her and his alpha, eyeing her apathetically.
She wanted to retreat into Darren’s warm fur, but before she could, his huge muzzle was pushing her toward Logan like she was a puppy that needed to meet the older dog of the family.
Logan stopped a few feet from her with his huge loup-garou frame and shadow overwhelming her, shielding her from the moonlight. They locked gazes and his salient eyes, so full of emotion and wonder, mesmerized Katey. There was no sign of recognition in them, only aloofness like he didn’t care to be near her, yet there was an indication of interest.
Katey offered out her hand, knowing that dogs needed to sniff a stranger before getting to know them. Logan glanced to her hand, but didn’t react.
“Logan,” she whispered, her heart beginning to break within her all over again.
His eyes lit up only faintly and he padded a step closer to her hand.
“Don’t you recognize me?” she asked. “It’s me, Katey.”
His ears perked up inquisitively as if to hear more of what she had to say. Katey had an idea and quickly untied the bandana that he’d given her earlier and offered it out to him. He seemed intrigued, sniffed it and then snorted, shaking his head. Katey withdrew it and held it in her lap as a painful lump developed in her throat.
If he couldn’t even recognize himself, how could she expect him to recognize her? Darren had said there was the possibility that his wolf wouldn’t know her. The alphas would have because of their strong bond with their wolves over the centuries, but Logan was still young. Somehow, she had hoped that their love would bridge through the unfamiliarity, but that was clearly too much to ask.
Katey glanced back up to Darren who was guarding her from behind and saw him shake his head, as if to tell her that it wasn’t going to work. She felt more tears sting her eyes and bowed her head to sob. She shielded her face with the bandana, not wanting anyone to see her tears.
The wolf tilted his head and peered closely at the girl.
She cries. Why does she cry? Is she hurting too? Why is she so familiar? What am I feeling? Is she what I’m missing? Is she missing me? Is that why she cries?
Logan stepped a little closer and laid himself down on his stomach sinking into the cold snow. He laid his hefty head in her lap in a way to comfort Katey. He may not have remembered who she was, but there was nothing to stop them from building a relationship right now.
Katey unveiled her face from the bandana she gripped so tightly, then cautiously lifted her hand and weaved her fingers through his fur, feeling the coarse fibers on top and the silky strands underneath.
One long, lupine arm stretched out over her shins while the other trapped her from behind. By now Darren had walked off to greet the others, seeing that there was no more hostility between them.
Her hand glided over his thick mane and Katey could once again feel their bond. The aching loneliness that settled over her when Logan walked away was gone now and she felt just a little whole again, now that they were together. His warmth was a balm to her aching heart and the emotional turmoil that had sent her spiraling out of control moments before was fading into the past.
And somehow, she thought Logan felt the same. The rippling muscles under his skin relaxed under her soothing caresses and his eyes drooped shut as if he’d fall asleep at any moment.
As they sat there together, tears rolling down her cheeks and Logan trying to console her in the only way he could, Katey began to wonder if this evening was going to get any easier. At least now she didn’t have to worry about being eaten. She still didn’t want to face everyone in the morning, but perhaps there was time and hope that she could change later. Both John and Darren were there and they could guard her from the pack. There might have been hope for her. But, for the time, Katey wanted to rest and be with Logan.
In a daring move, Katey leaned down and enveloped her arms around Logan’s thick neck and hugged him, wiping her icy tears against his black fur. He didn’t seem to mind and she thought she could feel his arms edge in a little around her as well. It wasn’t a hug, but it was close enough.
The other loups-garous turned to watch, both entranced and curious about what was transpiring between Katey and Logan. Some knew exactly what was going on and wouldn’t interrupt. Others who neither had a mate or were too fresh in their loup-garou lives to know what it meant to be in love, walked a little closer to observe. Katey didn’t mind their inquisitiveness, knowing that John and Darren who watched closely from a distance would protect her.
A few silent moments passed, then everyone in the clearing perked up their ears, raised themselves up onto their hind legs to sniff the air. Something wasn’t right and it sent shockwaves through every loup-garou.
Logan broke from her embrace and stood up like the others, straddled his two powerful hind legs on either side of her, his tail swishing against her hair. Katey looked around frantically. She didn’t smell anything, but that didn’t mean that nothing was lurking there in the woods. The air seemed to electrify and she knew, just like they did, that something was approaching.
A bellowing growl emanated from the group as they looked around with alert and searching eyes. Then, the wind began to blow in her direction and Katey could smell something that was like a mix of sulfur masked by a cheap imitation of pine scent. The smell was repulsive, and despite its familiar essence, she covered her nose to keep from gagging.
“What’s happening?”
Darren slowly walked over to them and in his loup-garou grunting noise language tried to tell her something urgently.
Katey was about to let him know that she didn’t understand when she heard something like pellet guns begin to fire from all directions. One by one, she saw loups-garous fall down to the snow with tranquilizer darts lodged deep in their fu
r. Whatever can take out a loup-garou must have been some high-powered doses. This was not a mere group of game hunters.
Katey tried to crawl out from under Logan’s legs, but he quickly pounced on top of her and trapped her between his four legs, roaring up at the attackers, guarding her from any impending darts.
She shrunk low under Logan’s body and watched as some tried to escape, but were met by nets on all sides. She could only assume they were silver by the way that their skin sizzled on contact.
They were trapped, but by who?
She peered up into the treetops and saw the shooters, aiming down at them with their tranquilizer guns. Some were even perched up on the ledge she had tried to climb earlier. All the shooters were shrouded in black cloaks, hats, and masks, making them into shadows against the snow. Were they human? Assassins? Monster hunters?
Several loups-garous spotted their attackers and climbed the trees. Some shooters were ripped from their perches and mauled, while others managed to shoot the beasts before they could get that far.
Katey heard a soft thud just before Logan’s heavy body began to waiver and quiver above her. He’d been hit. Before he toppled to the snow, she maneuvered out from under him and saw the tranquilizer dart in his arm. Katey took a firm hold on it and managed to yank it out, but it was too late and Logan was unconscious.
He was still breathing, heart still beating, but his eyes were closed as if in a deep sleep. At least he was alive. The dart resembled something of a hospital needle, half-filled with a dingy yellow liquid that wreaked of something herbal and powerful.
She threw it aside disdainfully and screamed at the shooters to hold their fire. She stayed by Logan’s body and waved her hands to the shooters to get their attention. It was likely that they didn’t know she was even there, their sole focus was on the loups-garous.
Becoming the Enigma (The Loup-Garou Series Book 2) Page 32