“What else did I have to do? I was swallowed up with anger, rightfully so I might add. I was sure confronting him would somehow rid me of the infection.”
“You went to kill him, didn’t you?”
Tyson sighed and nodded, obviously not very thrilled at having to admit such a thing. “When I found him, all I felt was pity. He was in hiding even then and was half wild. After he’d told me his story, I left. We’ve been in contact a few times after. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m the only one he has dared trust since the curse stole his life.”
“To hear you describe him, he doesn’t sound very scary.”
Her heart was suddenly in her throat when she didn’t see him move and he appeared directly in front of her, his eyes tinged gold. He placed a hand on the side of her face and leaned in. “We are, all of us, very scary. I don’t know what I can say to convince you of how entirely scary we are. Every moment is a struggle not to lose control and kill. Every emotion must be checked and buried to decrease the risk of finding the wild wolf escaping. You should fear him, Clara. You should fear me and every single monster you come across.”
Every bit of her insides trembled and her heart was a mess of nerves in response to his nearness and his stern words. She tried to lean back, but he only moved closer. Her fiery green eyes glittered in response to his statement and she won the internal battle of nerves and fear when she dared lean closer to him, pressing her cheek into his hand. She looked into his eyes, sure she had his full attention before saying, “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. You are no monster.”
The shock that resonated behind his eyes made him straighten and step back. He inhaled sharply as if to speak, but nothing came out. His eyes shifted to the door and he shook his head. A few moments later, the rest of the pack broke through their privacy in a flurry of noise. To Clara’s relief, Jack had been found and seemed alright. His eyes were on the floor when he approached Tyson.
“Ty…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lose my cool.”
Knowing Tyson to be the strict leader he was, Clara stood quickly, ready to speak in Jack’s defense. She was surprised when Tyson smiled and nodded encouragingly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You didn’t completely lose your cool and you managed to leave before…before innocents were affected.” His attention turned to Dawn. “Perhaps we should avoid mentioning my cousin for awhile, and never in the presence of…innocents.”
“Of course,” Dawn agreed and fidgeted with her blouse. “I’m sorry.”
Callan went to Clara’s side and touched her hand. “How are you feeling, sis?”
“I’m okay,” she said.
“Are you sure?” Jack asked and moved to touch her forehead. “You’re flushed, but you don’t seem to have a fever.”
“I’m okay,” she said again. “Really I am.”
“You haven’t had chest pains, or any sudden weakness?”
Clara shook her head.
“That’s good. I’m sorry if I frightened you before.”
“It’s fine,” she replied.
“Do you think she’s alright to move?” Tyson asked.
“I wouldn’t unless you think it absolutely necessary. The best thing would be to let her rest another day.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Tyson agreed with a nod.
“I’m well enough,” she said with a scowl. “You don’t have to stick around this place because of me…but I don’t want to go anywhere unless it’s closer to Jothram.”
Tyson growled and wheeled to face her. “Why can’t you forget about him?”
“How can I?” She yelled too and returned his scowl with one of her own. “You promised you would take me to him.”
“I won’t allow it, not now.”
“I’m not going anywhere until I’ve met Jothram.” She crossed her arms and sat on the bed.
“There is no way that will happen! Especially not now! Forget him!”
Clara shook her head and looked away. Tyson growled a string of strange words under his breath and glowered before leaving the room, slamming the door behind him. The room shook then fell still. The others had been holding their breaths in anticipation and exhaled to relax after he’d gone. Mesha went to sit next to Clara, putting an arm about her shoulders.
“You shouldn’t push him so strongly,” she said.
“Yeah,” Callan agreed. “Give him time.”
Clara shook her head and opened her mouth to argue, but Jack cut her off. “I think our patient has had enough excitement for today. Clara, you should try to get as much rest as you can before we leave tomorrow.”
“I’ll stay with her,” Mesha said.
“So will I,” Callan added.
“Great,” Jack said and rubbed his neck, glancing about the room as if it might collapse on him. “I don’t know how much more of this place I can take.”
Jack left and Dawn followed.
“Sis, I…” Callan’s sentence trailed off. He knew enough, by the look on her face, that he should keep his mouth shut. Tears brimmed her eyes and she yanked the covers back only to hide in them a moment later. In a rare display of camaraderie, Mesha and Callan exchanged worried expressions. Neither of them could think of anything to say and listened to Clara until she fell asleep.
Despite her spoken determination to stay in one place until she’d met Jothram, Clara did not mention it again the next morning as she endeavored to practice patience. Tyson did not return until the morning after. She was packed and ready to go when he stormed in looking cross.
“We’re leaving,” he announced. Dawn and Callan got to their feet. Jack and Mesha had been out since the night before. Clara knew better than to ask where they were going. Tyson had secured yet another vehicle for their transportation. Jack, Dawn and Mesha decided to run and Clara was left to travel with Tyson and Callan. As before, Callan insisted she ride in front.
Traffic kept them in the city for two hours, in which time Callan spread out in the spacious rear compartment of the SUV and fell asleep. Tyson remained tense as they slowly made their way out. Clara thought he might be trying to strangle the steering wheel. When they eventually emerged from the populated area, he seemed less on edge. He finally breathed a sigh of relief when they drove beyond any sign of life and there was none to show for miles.
“You have been unusually quiet,” Tyson said as they passed rows and rows of desiccated corn stalks. She glanced to her brother to ensure he was asleep before answering.
“You left me with little choice,” she said and turned from him to gaze out the window.
“I don’t do these things to hurt you.”
“I understand, but I don’t disagree for the fun of it either. I want…” She paused when his eyes flashed, sighing in frustration. “Never mind.”
“Perhaps we should discuss it further when we’ve found a safe place to hide.”
“Are we running out of hideouts?”
“Not quite yet. I have a friend who will hide us in her pack for now.”
“How long will it take to get there?”
“I reckon two or three days. They live in Colorado, in the mountains.”
“Your hideout was in the mountains too. I had no idea wolves love mountainous ranges so much.”
“Werewolves love anyplace they can roam where the chance of them running into an innocent is very small.”
“Listen, Tyson, I…I never really got to thank you for—”
“It’s fine, you don’t have to thank me.”
She swallowed another sigh and returned to watching fields zing by.
Late that night they met up with the others at a hotel where Clara was given food and made to rest. Mesha rode with them when next they started off, allowing Callan a chance to run. They switched places again the next day, but Tyson was always behind the wheel.
He drove them over the Colorado border while Clara napped. She woke as they passed through a small town called Ridgway and kept driving toward the beautiful blu
e mountains ahead. The road was a bit too familiar. Once they left the asphalt, it reminded her of the road Mark had taken before setting wild dogs on her. Rocks and dust spewed behind them as the wheels ground in the dirt road. The steady clinking of stones hitting the undercarriage was the only sound aside from the whine of the engine. The SUV climbed higher and higher, driving by long grass that had turned yellow in the late season and the aspens that were speckled with red.
“How far is this place?” Callan asked, giving Clara a slight shock. The last she’d checked on him he’d been asleep.
“We’ll have to go on foot some of the way.”
“Don’t tell me we’re going to ditch our car again?”
“Maybe we’ll just hide it,” Tyson said. “We may need it if we have to leave here in a hurry.”
They rounded a fork in the road, taking the less traveled of the two, the one marked with a sign warning trespassers to keep out. The vehicle bounced and lurched as the road became steep and uneven. Tyson guided it to a point where the ground leveled off and the road fell under the shade of trees. There was another steep ascent about five hundred yards ahead. He pressed the gas pedal to the floor to gain speed and they shot forward. There was flash of color on the road and he slammed the brakes just before Clara screamed a warning. They were covered in a cloud of dust by the time the car jerked to a stop. As the dust settled, a woman could be made out. She was standing with her hands on her hips. Her white-blonde hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail secured with a few bands down her back. The skin tight clothing she wore revealed her rippling shoulders and strong trunk. She strode easily to them on her powerful legs, marching directly to Tyson’s door. He popped it open and stepped out.
“Felina! Were you trying to get yourself killed?” he barked.
Felina’s strong jaw jutted forward and she scowled at Tyson from under her stern brow. “A car could not kill me. This you know. You cannot come any further,” she said in a heavy Russian accent.
“I don’t understand,” Tyson said. “I called you last night.”
“You did not say you would bring a mortal,” Felina gestured toward Clara. “I cannot allow a mortal near my pack, Tyson.”
“She’s with me, Felina, she can keep our secrets.”
“I do not doubt your friends. I have five pups…five of them! Your mortal would be in danger here.”
Tyson leaned against the car with a heavy sigh. “Five?” he asked in disbelief. “Where did they come from?”
“Who knows? They have scarcely learned to communicate. I was hoping you could help tame them, but I see you have your hands full. Take the mortal somewhere else. Rodger is not far from here and he can be trusted.”
“I’ll look in on it,” Tyson said with a nod. “I wish I could help.”
Felina shrugged. “I’ve learned some taming tricks in my time, the pups will be fine.”
“I hope so. Thanks anyway, Felina.”
“Of course, I only wish I could help more.”
Tyson slid back into the car and Felina was gone.
“Wow, Ty,” Callan said under his breath. “She looks even meaner than you.”
Gripping the steering wheel hard, Tyson let loose a slow growl between his teeth and a string of strange curses tumbled out under his breath. His eyes bore into the road ahead as if he could see through rock and tree. “Five pups,” he whispered, more to himself than anyone.
“Do you think it means anything?” Callan asked.
“Yeah,” Tyson said and jerked the wheel, cranking it to reverse and turn the SUV around. “It means there are five more werewolves that never should have been.” A raging storm surfaced in his eyes and his face fell. The brooding silence that followed encompassed the entire cab.
The journey down the mountain was not as quick as the one up, nor as pleasant. With Tyson glowering at their path ahead, it was a wonder the road did not up and run off in pure fear. As if his foul mood was not bad enough, the overheated brake pads were letting off an acrid stench that seemed to burn through their skulls. The smell soon passed when they left the mountainside and returned to the paved road. It wasn’t until then that Callan dared lean forward to address Tyson.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“We’ll hide with Rodger for a few days,” Tyson said. “Just until Mesha, Dawn and Jack have caught up.”
“Then where to?”
“Perhaps it would be best if we left the country for now.”
Callan’s emerald eyes glittered with excitement. “We could go to the Bahamas!”
Tyson’s laugh was half a bark. “The Bahamas, Cal? A bunch of little islands strung together with nowhere to really run?”
“We could swim instead,” Callan pointed out. “I can just imagine swimming in the warm water while the waves reflect the shine of the moon. Doesn’t that sound tempting?”
“Not really, there are too many innocents.”
Callan sighed and leaned against his seat with a smile on his face. “I know you’re right, but it would be awesome.”
Clara twisted in her seat to better see her brother’s wistful smile. “Did you get to travel much before you were bitten?”
“Not really. I was infected only a few months after I left home and what money I came by before then, I threw away.”
“You’ll get a chance to travel,” Tyson said. “You’ll have lots of time to do whatever you want.”
She sat back hard, never so conscious of her mortality than in that moment. She bit her lip to keep from crying yet again and pretended to be interested in the scenery. Callan’s hand snuck to her shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze. Without looking, she reached back to clasp his hand.
Chapter 12 - Rodger
The rest of the pack didn’t show up at the hotel that night, but that didn’t keep Tyson from pressing on.
“Why don’t you call them?” Clara asked when they were well on their way.
“I did, but they didn’t answer. The phones don’t really work when they’re in their wolf forms. They’ll call if they need something.”
“How do the phones stay on their body at all?” she asked.
“I suppose it’s part of the magic,” Tyson responded.
“Do you know how far Rodger’s is from here?” Callan asked as his leg bounced up and down. Mesha had not come to take his place and he was nervously tense in the closed environment.
“I don’t remember for sure, but we won’t go too far. Will you be alright?” Tyson asked him and Callan nodded.
“Yeah, it’s no big deal.”
“Let me know if it becomes one.”
Tyson drove southwest until they were very nearly in Utah. Mountains stood before them and behind them, but their immediate surroundings consisted of protruding rock structures and miles of red dirt. He turned off the road at a place that could hardly be discerned as a road and a red dirt cloud followed them as he sped along. They rounded a bend hidden by pine and juniper trees. Sagebrush grew tall in every direction, some almost as tall as the trees. He kept them on the dirt path until night settled and Clara lost track if they were even in Colorado any longer.
Finally, they came upon a road that veered through a wooden fence. An arch made of hundreds of antlers covered the road as if warning them to keep out. Tyson stopped before passing under the arch. He killed the engine and stepped from the car.
“Stay here,” he commanded and slammed the door shut. Clara glanced to her brother, who looked perplexed. When she looked up there was no sign of Tyson.
“Does he do this often?” she asked her brother skeptically.
“I think it’s a territorial thing. He’s asking permission to enter Rodger’s land.”
She scanned the land for life, but the huge antler arch commanded attention. “How many antlers do you think are up there?” she asked, leaning in her seat to look up at the structure.
“I dunno,” Callan replied.
“Do you think Rodger’s pack killed the elk they belonged to?”<
br />
“I couldn’t say,” Callan said. “I suppose anything is possible.”
She wrinkled her nose and turned away from the display of animal bones, choosing instead to let her eye fall on the center console of the car. She’d seen it hundreds of times as they made their way halfway across the country, but Tyson had been present those times. His small silver phone, a cheap, quick replacement for the smart phone she’d broken, sat innocently in a cup holder. She stared at the thing as an idea slowly formed in her mind and she reached for it.
“What are you doing?” Callan asked, suddenly hovering behind her.
“Do you think Jothram’s number could be in here?” she whispered, grasping the small plastic frame in her hands.
“Sis, you shouldn’t go through his phone!”
“I’m not, I’m just looking.”
She flipped it open with her thumb and scrolled through the menu until she found the contacts.
“Sis,” Callan hissed from the backseat. “Put it back! How do you know Jothram even has a phone?”
“How do you know he doesn’t? It’s worth a look, isn’t it?”
“No,” he disagreed with a shake of his head. “Put it back.”
She shook her head and scrolled through the contact list, stopping when she came to the names beginning with J. There were a few, Jack, Jaime, Jaliyah, Jeremy, John, Josh and Justin, but no Jothram. Her heart sank in disappointment, but it was soon forgotten when the car door popped open. Tyson’s eye fell on her, more specifically, his phone in her hand. Immediately his eyes darkened and he leaned forward to snatch it from her fingers.
“You didn’t find what you were looking for, did you?” he asked and snapped it shut.
“Ty, she—”
“I know what she was doing, Cal,” Tyson grumbled without taking his accusing stare from her. Flames lit in her face and her cheeks burned with embarrassment. “Rodger says we can wait here until the rest catch up. He isn’t thrilled about a mortal coming on his lands, so try to behave yourself and don’t go searching through his phone, alright?”
Still red with embarrassment, she could only nod as he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. The gentle rise and fall of the path soon revealed a house ahead. The surrounding yard was covered in lawn and bordered with a white picket fence. Tyson parked in a sheltered garage, next to a few large and dusty vehicles. Callan popped his door open almost before the SUV came to a complete stop. He paced around the car.
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